Expect more of the same as the ANC gears up for elective conference

While the contentious “step aside” rule is expected to dominate policy discussions at the ANC’s national conference that starts on Friday, the energy crisis will also be front and centre.

The issue is a divisive one for the ANC, which is  split over whether to aggressively pursue renewables or stick to coal. The future of Eskom itself is also a hot potato.

The power crisis could literally plunge the conference into the dark, but even this prospect has failed to prompt the ANC to come up with workable solutions at recent gatherings. 

Opposition parties are having a field day, capitalising on the energy crisis ahead of the general elections in 2024.

The ANC has previously acknowledged that load-shedding was “crippling SA”.

People don’t discuss policies. They come and pontificate, moan and groan about this or that. The only policy that will be discussed in depth is step aside

—  Party insider

“Restoring energy security is critical for lifting confidence, investment and job creation. The more we have load-shedding, the more jobs are being lost and the more the country is not productive,” said ANC head of economic transformation Mmamoloko Kubayi in May.

Kubayi said Eskom’s performance, both operationally and financially, had to improve and implementation of the integrated resources plan had to be accelerated.  The party would  ensure that the registration requirements for self-generation of electricity were streamlined and red tape reduced.

The ANC would  also encourage exploration for gas and minerals,  particularly those critical for the energy transition, she said.

The ANC has been unhappy about the pace of reform at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and seeks to undertake a comprehensive review to determine “on the balance of evidence which [SOEs] should be retained, consolidated, or repositioned”.

Its draft economic policy document says the party is hoping to protect the strategic value of these entities by ensuring that they are able to service the country and its developmental needs.

The document says new proposals are needed that build on the foundations of  the economic reconstruction & recovery plan. 

“We are of the view that the process should be more explicit about the trade-offs, time frames, contributions and sacrifices to be made by specific constituencies towards rebuilding the economy,” Kubayi said.

“Mechanisms to ensure accountability for non-delivery… must also be put in place.”

But party insiders are not expecting any notable policy shifts to emerge from this week’s gathering.

“People don’t discuss policies. They come and pontificate, moan and groan about this or that. The only policy that will be discussed in depth is step aside. The same thing happened at the policy conference in July,” said one source,   who will be a delegate at the conference. The party would  merely endorse the same policies it had adopted before.

“For instance on the basic income grant [BIG], we’ve got the social relief of distress grant, it’s a foundation. Cyril [Ramaphosa] can just say, we are engaging on the modalities to transform it into BIG, it’s in process,” said the source. There would be a “vague” reference to exploring the BIG plan as far as the fiscus would  allow.

Another insider said: “The BIG will definitely be discussed as policy. Of course, it will still rely on the usual strong arm of the National Treasury to shoot it down.”

The sources said that with regard to expropriation without compensation, one of the resolutions from previous conferences, they expected the president to point to the Expropriation Bill, which was recently passed by the National Assembly and is now with the National Council of Provinces.

As for nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank: “Does the government have R50bn to spend on this symbolic gesture?” asked one of the sources.