While lauding the work done to reduce the instances of load-shedding, President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the country is not out of the woods yet as a possibility of further load-shedding remains.
Ramaphosa was introducing the Presidency budget vote in parliament on Tuesday.
He spoke about the “significant strides” made during the course of the previous administration, saying it will be important for the government of national unity (GNU) to sustain them.
Ramaphosa said with the support of the National Energy Crisis Committee, which he chairs, there has been a marked improvement in the performance of Eskom’s power stations, which produce the bulk of South Africa’s electricity.
The committee came up with the Energy Action Plan. Regulatory changes have enabled substantial new investment in electricity generation.
“This week, the country will have gone 120 days without load-shedding. However, it is too soon to claim victory. Our electricity system is still vulnerable and we cannot yet rule out a possibility of further load-shedding,” he said.
Ramaphosa said drawing on the experience in tackling the electricity crisis, the government established the national logistics crisis committee and adopted a freight logistics road map.
“As we enter a new democratic administration, as we define the priorities for the GNU, we are building on the progress made during the course of the previous administration,” he said. “We have made significant strides over the course of the last five years to restore our country and our economy. We need to sustain the work that has been done and see many of the measures we have taken through to completion.”
Ramaphosa reiterated the new administration’s priorities, which he outlined in his opening of parliament address last week:
- to drive inclusive growth and job creation;
- to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and
- to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
He said as the strategic centre of government, the Presidency bore the responsibility for co-ordinating the work of the government to ensure the priorities were implemented.
Central to the work of the Presidency is co-operation, partnership and collaboration, both across government and with social partners and other stakeholders.
This approach has proven successful in mobilising a broad spectrum of resources and capabilities to undertake actions that have the greatest social and economic impact, he said.
His deputy minister of electricity and energy, Samantha Graham-Maré, noted that South Africa was in its 116th day without load-shedding — the longest run of no load-shedding since September 2020 to December 2020.
“It is also worth noting that this has been achieved with a saving of more than R6bn in diesel against the same period last year. So, the decision by the president in respect of dealing with the electricity crisis has definitely borne some fruit.”
The decision Graham-Maré was speaking about was Ramaphosa’s 2023 appointment of Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the minister responsible for electricity despite there already being two ministers responsible for electricity, namely the minister of mineral resources and energy who was developing a blueprint for electricity, and the public enterprises minister who was busy unbundling Eskom.
Graham-Maré said being a relatively “free agent” in the Presidency gave Ramokgopa the freedom and agility to deal with the electricity crisis but not enough to address the energy crisis.
The risk of load-shedding hangs on a knife’s edge, she said, and while the planned maintenance and the lower demand have paid dividends and seen the electricity availability factor sufficiently high to create some element of stability, the energy system remains severely constrained.
For that reason, the DA has welcomed moving electricity out of the Presidency and the creation of the department of energy and electricity with Ramokgopa at the helm.
“By incorporating the energy portfolio with electricity, we are hopeful that this new department will combine the political, statutory and policy mandate of the energy sector with the momentum built up through the Presidency and NECOM to create a stable and functional energy supply for South Africa.”
Graham-Maré said while they await the uncoupling of energy from mineral resources, their focus will remain on finding innovative solutions to create a long-term energy resilience in the country.
She noted that though Ramaphosa had announced the new department, no budget had been allocated to it for the 2024/25 financial year.
“As a result, there is no real clarity on the fiscal responsibility for the establishment and running of the department of energy and electricity between the Presidency and the department of mineral resources.
“And while the President has moved electricity out of the Presidency, he has moved state-owned enterprises in. The implication of this is that Eskom resides in the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation and not within the department of energy and electricity.
“Initial indications were that Eskom would be moved into the new department so that the executive entrusted with the function of energy and electricity would have direct oversight of the entity. It makes absolute sense that the organisation responsible for electricity be housed within the department.”
Graham-Maré said the State-Owned Enterprises Bill that Ramaphosa referred to in his opening of parliament address, which was introduced to parliament in January 2024 and which provides for a holding company which centralises ownership of the SOEs, is merely another model for the failed department of public enterprises. This creates another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, she said.
“The cost implications of this are also astronomical and unjustifiable in an economy that is trying to claw its way out of the financial morass in which it now exists.”
She said while the Presidency was perhaps the perfect vehicle for an emergency intervention into the electricity crisis, it was not necessarily the answer to the failing SOEs.
The electricity crisis warranted a centralised co-ordination from within the office of the president to fast-track decision-making and implementation of the energy action plan. “[However,] the turnaround of state-owned enterprises, while urgent, requires that each SOE be housed within the relevant line department as a mechanism to ensure that policy and implementation are aligned for greater efficiency,” said Graham-Maré.
'Too soon to claim victory': Ramaphosa says as SA heads for 120 days of no load-shedding
'We have made significant strides in restoring our country and our economy'
Image: Esa Alexander/REUTERS
While lauding the work done to reduce the instances of load-shedding, President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the country is not out of the woods yet as a possibility of further load-shedding remains.
Ramaphosa was introducing the Presidency budget vote in parliament on Tuesday.
He spoke about the “significant strides” made during the course of the previous administration, saying it will be important for the government of national unity (GNU) to sustain them.
Ramaphosa said with the support of the National Energy Crisis Committee, which he chairs, there has been a marked improvement in the performance of Eskom’s power stations, which produce the bulk of South Africa’s electricity.
The committee came up with the Energy Action Plan. Regulatory changes have enabled substantial new investment in electricity generation.
“This week, the country will have gone 120 days without load-shedding. However, it is too soon to claim victory. Our electricity system is still vulnerable and we cannot yet rule out a possibility of further load-shedding,” he said.
Ramaphosa said drawing on the experience in tackling the electricity crisis, the government established the national logistics crisis committee and adopted a freight logistics road map.
“As we enter a new democratic administration, as we define the priorities for the GNU, we are building on the progress made during the course of the previous administration,” he said. “We have made significant strides over the course of the last five years to restore our country and our economy. We need to sustain the work that has been done and see many of the measures we have taken through to completion.”
Ramaphosa reiterated the new administration’s priorities, which he outlined in his opening of parliament address last week:
He said as the strategic centre of government, the Presidency bore the responsibility for co-ordinating the work of the government to ensure the priorities were implemented.
Central to the work of the Presidency is co-operation, partnership and collaboration, both across government and with social partners and other stakeholders.
This approach has proven successful in mobilising a broad spectrum of resources and capabilities to undertake actions that have the greatest social and economic impact, he said.
His deputy minister of electricity and energy, Samantha Graham-Maré, noted that South Africa was in its 116th day without load-shedding — the longest run of no load-shedding since September 2020 to December 2020.
“It is also worth noting that this has been achieved with a saving of more than R6bn in diesel against the same period last year. So, the decision by the president in respect of dealing with the electricity crisis has definitely borne some fruit.”
The decision Graham-Maré was speaking about was Ramaphosa’s 2023 appointment of Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the minister responsible for electricity despite there already being two ministers responsible for electricity, namely the minister of mineral resources and energy who was developing a blueprint for electricity, and the public enterprises minister who was busy unbundling Eskom.
Graham-Maré said being a relatively “free agent” in the Presidency gave Ramokgopa the freedom and agility to deal with the electricity crisis but not enough to address the energy crisis.
The risk of load-shedding hangs on a knife’s edge, she said, and while the planned maintenance and the lower demand have paid dividends and seen the electricity availability factor sufficiently high to create some element of stability, the energy system remains severely constrained.
For that reason, the DA has welcomed moving electricity out of the Presidency and the creation of the department of energy and electricity with Ramokgopa at the helm.
“By incorporating the energy portfolio with electricity, we are hopeful that this new department will combine the political, statutory and policy mandate of the energy sector with the momentum built up through the Presidency and NECOM to create a stable and functional energy supply for South Africa.”
Graham-Maré said while they await the uncoupling of energy from mineral resources, their focus will remain on finding innovative solutions to create a long-term energy resilience in the country.
She noted that though Ramaphosa had announced the new department, no budget had been allocated to it for the 2024/25 financial year.
“As a result, there is no real clarity on the fiscal responsibility for the establishment and running of the department of energy and electricity between the Presidency and the department of mineral resources.
“And while the President has moved electricity out of the Presidency, he has moved state-owned enterprises in. The implication of this is that Eskom resides in the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation and not within the department of energy and electricity.
“Initial indications were that Eskom would be moved into the new department so that the executive entrusted with the function of energy and electricity would have direct oversight of the entity. It makes absolute sense that the organisation responsible for electricity be housed within the department.”
Graham-Maré said the State-Owned Enterprises Bill that Ramaphosa referred to in his opening of parliament address, which was introduced to parliament in January 2024 and which provides for a holding company which centralises ownership of the SOEs, is merely another model for the failed department of public enterprises. This creates another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, she said.
“The cost implications of this are also astronomical and unjustifiable in an economy that is trying to claw its way out of the financial morass in which it now exists.”
She said while the Presidency was perhaps the perfect vehicle for an emergency intervention into the electricity crisis, it was not necessarily the answer to the failing SOEs.
The electricity crisis warranted a centralised co-ordination from within the office of the president to fast-track decision-making and implementation of the energy action plan. “[However,] the turnaround of state-owned enterprises, while urgent, requires that each SOE be housed within the relevant line department as a mechanism to ensure that policy and implementation are aligned for greater efficiency,” said Graham-Maré.
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