Ruling party in the dark

The ANC says there is no power crisis.

During a snap debate on Eskom yesterday, two ANC MPs played down recent events around the power utility which have included three days of rolling blackouts, the collapse of a coal silo at Majuba power station and poor financial results.

"I want to say there is no crisis," ANC MP Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba told the National Assembly.

She was echoed by her colleague Zukiswa Rantho, while Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown called the situation "a challenge".

This was despite Eskom's own CEO admitting this week that "we are living on the edge".

Brown added yesterday that the problems could continue for another two years.

"The next few years are going to be tough."

Brown said the collapse at Majuba came two years after a thorough inspection at the power station and six months before it was due for another one.

Brown said that if all power stations functioned optimally, there would be enough electricity. However, unexpected breakdowns at several sites were causing the current supply problems.

Brown admitted that "in hindsight" the government and Eskom had waited too long to build two new coal-fired power stations.

This meant that many of the skilled people required for their construction were not available, which was delaying matters further.

The debate was held at the request of DA spokeswoman on public enterprises Natasha Michael.

She said Eskom was in a crisis "shrouded in mystery" and "played down by the ANC time and time again".

DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said the crisis "represents a fundamental threat to our economic wellbeing, yet, by all accounts, we should not have reached this dire position to begin with".

The EFF's Kgotso Morapela said the ANC was "clueless" about solving the problems.

"Crime is done well when it is dark, because no one sees anything," he said.

The IFP's Mkhuleko Hlengwa said that if Letsatsi-Duba believed there was no crisis "her thought process is on load-shedding".