Hobbled by the ongoing power crisis, which is causing enormous damage to the economy and much disruption to the lives of all South Africans, the nation is looking to the government to devise a credible plan to normalise the situation.
The urgency to find a solution is underlined by the deterioration in Eskom’s ability to provide a reliable power supply — with load-shedding now reaching stage 6.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to soon address the nation on the government’s response to the crisis. When he does, we expect that the plan he announces will be commensurate with the magnitude of the grim state of affairs, reflective of a government that is aware of the need to act with urgency and focus.
Much of the blame for the slow progress made so far has been laid at the door of regulatory red tape, which has, among other things, hindered the speedy addition of new generation capacity to the system. No less a body than the National Planning Commission has called for the declaration of a power emergency, which would override provisions preventing a speedy response to the problem.
The commission warned that the goals of the National Development Plan cannot be achieved without energy security, which includes acceptable levels of economic growth. The power cuts are constraining economic activity and devastating small and medium enterprises in particular, with the attendant destruction of much-needed jobs.
Therefore, we expect that when he addresses the nation the president will present a comprehensive plan to end load-shedding in the immediate term, obviously without taking the eye off long-term power supply imperatives.
We agree with the NPC that ending load-shedding should become “a unifying national goal for the whole country and all stakeholders”. In particular, we expect Ramaphosa to provide details of how the government will work with the private sector to marshal all available resources to deal with the power shortages.
A failure by the president to table a clear and detailed plan will serve only to further undermine confidence in his and his government’s ability to solve the crisis.
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.