Ramaphosa later denied there was a standoff over control of Eskom.
“There are no territorial battles on this issue. When I appointed the minister of electricity I made it clear what the roles of the three ministers would be. I made it clear the minister of electricity is going to focus his attention on ridding our country of load-shedding,” he said.
The Sunday Times reported that some of the powers Ramaphosa had delayed transferring to Ramokgopa fall under regulations 34 and 35 of the Electricity Regulation Act.
These would give the minister sweeping powers to approve new generation sources, determine the types of energy to be produced and sold and ensure the participation of independent power producers through tendering processes. He would also have the power to enter into contracts to organise tenders and facilitate the tendering process for the development, construction, commissioning and operation of new electricity generation capacity.
When he appointed Ramokgopa in March, Ramaphosa said the primary task of the new minister would be to reduce the severity and frequency of load-shedding.
“To effectively oversee the electricity crisis response, the appointed minister will have political responsibility, authority and control over all critical aspects of the Energy Action Plan.
“This will help to deal with the challenge of fragmentation of responsibility across various departments and ministers, which, while appropriate under normal circumstances, is not conducive to a crisis response,” he said.
The minister will be expected to facilitate the co-ordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.
“To enable the minister to do this work I will, in terms of section 97 of the constitution, transfer to them certain powers and functions contained in relevant legislation.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
Electricity minister gets his powers, but they are not yet public
Image: Freddy Mavunda
President Cyril Ramaphosa has delegated minister of electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa his responsibilities, but these haven’t been made public yet.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said a proclamation allocating Ramokgopa his powers had been signed and would soon be gazetted.
“The president has not failed to allocate powers to the minister of electricity. The issue has been resolved, the proclamation has been signed. You will have the details of that proclamation once it has been gazetted,” said Magwenya on Monday.
“Let’s dispense with that notion that the president has failed to deliver in that regard.
“Yes, it has taken time, as it should, because there were consultations that had to be held to ensure that in resolving this electricity crisis we do so in a manner harmonious with respect to the workings of government, [and] we take into consideration that the portfolio is not a permanent portfolio and whatever powers you allocate to it you do not do so at the risk of causing short-term or long-term instability in government,” said Magwenya.
He could not give the time frame for the gazetting but said it would be “as soon as possible” as the proclamation has been signed.
Ramokgopa’s powers and responsibilities have been a matter of speculation after media reports of a turf war in the cabinet since his appointment in March.
Last month, the Sunday Times reported about a fierce battle over the procurement of new energy sources for Eskom as a stumbling block preventing Ramokgopa from moving speedily to ease load-shedding.
‘Ramokgopa’s appointment is beginning to look more like a damp squib’ — DA on return to stage 6
The paper said without Ramaphosa promulgating a gazette setting out Ramokgopa’s powers South Africa’s proposed rapid transition to renewable energy sources was being frustrated.
Quoting government and ANC insiders, the report said mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan were opposed to granting Ramokgopa the powers originally envisaged.
Ramokgopa briefs cabinet on plans to end load-shedding by December
Ramaphosa later denied there was a standoff over control of Eskom.
“There are no territorial battles on this issue. When I appointed the minister of electricity I made it clear what the roles of the three ministers would be. I made it clear the minister of electricity is going to focus his attention on ridding our country of load-shedding,” he said.
The Sunday Times reported that some of the powers Ramaphosa had delayed transferring to Ramokgopa fall under regulations 34 and 35 of the Electricity Regulation Act.
These would give the minister sweeping powers to approve new generation sources, determine the types of energy to be produced and sold and ensure the participation of independent power producers through tendering processes. He would also have the power to enter into contracts to organise tenders and facilitate the tendering process for the development, construction, commissioning and operation of new electricity generation capacity.
When he appointed Ramokgopa in March, Ramaphosa said the primary task of the new minister would be to reduce the severity and frequency of load-shedding.
“To effectively oversee the electricity crisis response, the appointed minister will have political responsibility, authority and control over all critical aspects of the Energy Action Plan.
“This will help to deal with the challenge of fragmentation of responsibility across various departments and ministers, which, while appropriate under normal circumstances, is not conducive to a crisis response,” he said.
The minister will be expected to facilitate the co-ordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.
“To enable the minister to do this work I will, in terms of section 97 of the constitution, transfer to them certain powers and functions contained in relevant legislation.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
READ MORE:
‘Are you a minister or content creator?’ — Maimane questions Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s duties
‘Load-shedding will still be with us by December’: Ramokgopa
Ministers in three-way battle over load-shedding
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos