Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s January 8 statement gave South Africans a real glimpse into why there is no end in sight to Eskom’s load shedding woes.
His speech once again confirmed that no one in his party, himself included, is willing to take the fall for the sorry state at Eskom.
That is probably why our country is likely to be in the dark for at least the better part of this year.
“The ANC calls for Eskom and the government to immediately focus on restoring additional units to operation as quickly as possible and arresting further decline by undertaking critical maintenance; ensuring power stations have skilled and experienced personnel; tackling sabotage, theft and corruption at power stations; and streamlining procurement processes,” he said.
The president needs no reminder that the ANC is the governing party, which has been largely responsible for the ailing state of Eskom.
For the ANC to simply call on Eskom and not use its political power to resolve the country’s energy problems is seeking the easy way out. And it should not be allowed to do that.
“The Eskom board needs to recruit world-class professionals to fill the vacancies in executive management.
To further reduce stress on the national grid, the government and Eskom must enforce demand management measures to reduce electricity consumption and ensure available energy is directed to areas and sectors of priority, including support for health and educational institutions and municipal infrastructure.”
The ANC is as hopeless as Eskom, and judging by the president’s own words it would appear that power cuts are new in South Africa. His statement confirms that there is just no political will to deal with the energy crisis confronting the nation.
The country can attract the best minds in the industry to take us out of this darkness, but the problems at Eskom start and end, in the main, with government interference.
There are just too many people within the ANC with vested interests in Eskom.
The only light on the horizon is next year’s national elections, where citizens will have the power to decide if the ANC government is the right one for the country’s future.
We owe it to those who sacrificed their lives for us to exercise that right.
Cape Times