If President Cyril Ramaphosa was hoping to win back some semblance of goodwill from the public with his “action plan to end load-shedding” on Monday night, he failed.
Forgive us if we are not trembling with excitement, but SA’s patience has run out and the small amount of hard detail the president shared in his briefing was too little, too late.
That is not to say there is no merit in government’s latest emergency plan to end rolling blackouts and that South Africans do not appreciate the mammoth task that lies ahead.
But weary citizens have had to live with load-shedding for the past 15 years, and during this time they have become somewhat immune to the many plans, promises and excuses from government and Eskom’s many CEOs.
There have been a raft of reasons why the power utility can’t keep the lights on: the Guptas, maintenance challenges, ageing power stations, wet coal, strikes and the latest, mist. What creative excuses will come next as businesses close shop and global investors go elsewhere?
Ramaphosa’s briefing included some nuggets of tangible action, such as his announcement that the licensing threshold for embedded generation, which was raised from 1MW to 100MW last year, will be removed completely. Existing independent power producers will also be allowed to sell surplus energy to Eskom, and a more “pragmatic” approach will be taken to local content requirements. Eskom will also construct its first solar and battery storage projects at Komati, Majuba, Lethabo and several other power stations.
With the fiscus still reeling from Covid, and the devastating KZN floods, where will the funding come from to increase Eskom’s maintenance budget and recruit skilled personnel?
This is all cause for celebration, but will meet resistance from cadres with vested interests in the status quo, among them powerful trade unions as well as politically connected suppliers who have nothing to gain and everything to lose from SA increasing private investment in generation capacity.
However, the briefing also left many unanswered questions as to exactly how some of these new plans will work and what direct impact they will have on business and residential consumers.
With the fiscus still reeling from Covid, and the devastating KZN floods, where will the funding come from to increase Eskom’s maintenance budget and recruit skilled personnel? In what way will businesses and households be “enabled” to invest in rooftop solar installations? And what are the time frames?
“Encouraged”, “hopeful” and “cautiously optimistic” were some of the responses to the new plan. But with those responses came a warning that cutting red tape comes with a huge oversight responsibility. With Eskom now able to bypass the Public Finance Management Act so it can shorten the time it takes to buy maintenance spares and equipment, renewed looting of state coffers is a very real possibility and one government has a woeful reputation for preventing. Who can forget the many brazen PPE scandals, despite Ramaphosa’s assurance to the nation that the funds would be carefully controlled?
SA experienced its longest continuous period of power cuts over the past month, and residents are now in the grip of what has all the hallmarks of an abusive relationship. We desperately want to believe government will step up, see the error of its ways and do the right thing. But past experience tells us this is unlikely, and that the chances are good that our leaders will make big gestures and a lot of noise before sliding back into old ways and bad habits.
That is why many are unable to muster much excitement for Ramaphosa’s new plan. The president’s popularity has plummeted recently for various reasons, not least of which is the Phala Phala burglary controversy.
He will need to pull a rabbit out of a hat with his power plan, and it will need to come quickly given that the 2024 general elections are fast approaching. It will take a leader of immense courage and iron will to make it succeed. We are not holding our breath.
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