De Ruyter says what many South Africans are thinking out loud: Solutions for energy crisis will be found outside of government
20 April 2022
The frustration evident at Eskom's media briefing on load shedding this week confirms what many people have already known for a long time: Government is simply not committed to ensuring reliable power supply, which is required for economic growth.
Over the past few years, the FF Plus has repeatedly pointed out that businesses, households, schools and even municipalities must devise plans for meeting their own electricity needs.
If the government contributes anything to what it inherited from the previous dispensation, it should be considered a bonus. The most valuable step that the government has the power to take is to deregulate the electricity market and to cut the red tape.
Thousands of households and businesses have become partially or completely independent of Eskom over the past few years. This was predominantly achieved by installing solar panels on roofs, either by means of off-grid or grid-tied units.