Earlier this month Business Times reported on economists and business lobby groups describing the 18.5% electricity tariff hike approved by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) as absurd. “It is the absurd result of a state insisting on being energy producer through Eskom, determining prices through Nersa and hamstringing private energy production at every possible corner,” Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux told the publication. But even more absurd is President Cyril Ramaphosa this weekend asking Eskom to temporarily suspend the implementation of the increase set for April 1. Eskom gave its tariff hike submission to Nersa back in September. It boggles the mind that it has only now, almost five months and many load-shedding hours later, occurred to Ramaphosa to try to step in.
The president on Sunday, at the closing of the Free State ANC provincial elective conference, told delegates: “I have personally said to Eskom: ‘It will be an injury to our people if we implement this 18%, when we are going through load-shedding. Suspend it for a while,’ and so the Eskom board is going to discuss that because the tariff was decided by an independent agency, Nersa, at the request of Eskom.”
It goes without saying that any relief for consumers, businesses and ultimately the economy is to be welcomed. But Ramaphosa’s comments came on the same day the Sunday Times reported that very few short-term solutions were found in a week of “crisis meetings” over Eskom, which saw Ramaphosa cancel his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to focus on the energy disaster on local soil.
Ramaphosa is simply trying to placate angry South Africans whose patience with never-ending load-shedding has run out. We need a realistic, visionary plan of action that will be managed closely and abide by strict and achievable deadlines.
The president also addressed our electricity problems in his newsletter on Monday, acknowledging that “the last thing South Africans want to hear are excuses or unrealistic promises”. Then he continued with a long list of reasons for the situation we find ourselves in, reasons all very well known to South Africans by now. Through “collective action”, SA will “much sooner reach the point where we have enough power to end load-shedding altogether”.
Altogether, a failed public relations exercise. A good leader would have, back in September, already foreseen the suffering a double-digit electricity tariff hike would bring and would have started exploring solutions. Last week Ramaphosa was still saying the Nersa application is a statutory process he could not intervene in. Now it has dawned upon him to ask Eskom to hold back on its implementation. Yet none of this solves Eskom’s problems. The power utility needs money to keep the lights on. But South Africans don’t want to — and in many cases simply can’t afford to — pay for electricity plants that are not working.
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.