POLL | Do you believe the ANC's promise to fix load-shedding if people vote for them?

ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa's statement that Eskom's load-shedding may not be dealt with if people don't vote for the ANC has received mixed reactions. 

While addressing community members in Tsabella in Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said he was aware of citizens saying “no electricity, no vote” and that needed to stop now. 

“I’ve seen your placards saying ‘no electricity, no vote’. If you say that then who will fix the electricity?

“That means there will be no electricity for good because the ANC provides electricity, the same ANC you don’t like. Who will you vote for then to provide electricity? There’s nobody else that can provide electricity for you,” said Ramaphosa in isiZulu.

Ramaphosa said grievances over service delivery in communities should be taken up with the appointed mayor or councillor, instead of not voting. 

He said SA was not the only country with power problems, saying that countries like the US also experience load-shedding. “In California, they had no electricity for months,” claimed Ramaphosa. 

This is not the first time Ramaphosa has vowed that the ANC would stop load-shedding. 

In 2015, addressing the National Council of Provinces, Ramaphosa said load-shedding would be a thing of the past in “18 months to two years”.

“In another 18 months to two years, you will forget the challenges we had in relation to power and energy and Eskom ever happened,” he said.

In 2019, during his state of the nation address, the president assured the nation that “Eskom has made much progress in implementing its nine-point plan, ensuring better maintenance of its general fleet, reducing costs and ensuring adequate reserves of coal”.