A state of disaster over Eskom will do more harm than good

31 January 2023

Solidarity today expressed fierce criticism against the idea of declaring a state of disaster due to the ongoing power crisis. According to Solidarity it is rather the government’s inability to use their current power that led to the crisis, and a state of disaster will once again open the door to large-scale corruption and fraud. 

Solidarity argues that it is insane to trust the government with the powers of a state of disaster when their mismanagement is the cause of the disaster. 

“The ANC government declaring a state of disaster to deal with load shedding is like trying to put out a fire with petrol,” says Connie Mulder, Head of the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) “It leaves one cold to think that the same government who was responsible for the banning of warm chicken, sandals and shorts during the previous state of disaster, now wants to apply that decision-making ability unrestricted to the power crisis.”

Solidarity states that although there are some benefits linked to the declaration of a state of disaster, the chances that such benefits will materialise are extremely small, while the risks associated with establishing such an order can be destructive.

“Although it seems tempting to be able to apply faster decision-making, the reality is that emergency procurement of energy will take time. There must be specifications as to how many MW we will purchase at what price. Only thereafter private investors can start building generation plants and then be able to supply power to the grid. A state of disaster is not going to significantly accelerate this process. It will simply relax the overview thereof. This creates the nasty possibility of a corruption crossover between Medupi, Kusile and Covid purchase fraud,” explains Mulder. 

According to Solidarity, the answer lies in less power for the government and more freedom for the private sector. The state already has enough tools in their hands to solve the crisis, according to Solidarity.

“The harsh reality is that existing legislation already provides for emergency purchases of electricity. Minister Mantashe already used the existing legislation in July 2020 to announce a programme for emergency power purchases. With a simple regulation, the Minister can fully stipulate how much power we want to purchase over which term. If the president is unhappy with the implementation of these tools, the designated vehicle is rather a resignation letter from Minister Mantashe, not a declaration for a state of disaster,” states Mulder. 

Solidarity further argues that declaring a state of disaster appears to be an abuse and misapplication of the law for the current crisis and therefore that such a decision would probably not stand in the courts.

Solidarity’s legal team is investigating the matter further.

“The State of Disaster Act is not a shortcut to bypass processes. It is intended to act as a response to something that unexpectedly hits the country. To declare a state of disaster for something for which there is an entire state department is pointless. Imagine the President declaring a state of disaster because we have potholes in our roads, rather than replacing the minister of transport and taking the department to task. The ongoing power crisis has been with us for more than a decade. If there is any disaster then it is the ANC’s management of it," concludes Mulder. 

Issued by Connie Mulder, Head: Solidarity Research Institute, 31 January 2023