By the time you read this, President Cyril Ramaphosa may have made a national announcement to address the crippling power crisis, promising that the power outages will soon end.
But I want to caution all South Africans to take it with a grain of salt. This is not the first time Ramaphosa has pulled this trick, and it certainly won’t be the last.
This task of reforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – the highest of which is Eskom – was given to deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa almost a decade ago. On 2 September 2015, he told parliament: “In 18 months to two years, you will forget the challenges related to power and energy and Eskom that have ever happened.”
Fast forward seven years to July 2022, when the same person – now the president of the country – sends a weekly bulletin that says: “Then, in the coming days, will be able to announce a comprehensive series of actions to achieve faster progress to overcome load
“We have been working with the relevant ministers and senior officials on some additional measures to speed up all efforts to increase electricity supply. The message is clear: this is not the time for business as usual. We must act boldly to make load shedding a thing of the past.
The continuous blackouts that have affected the country’s electricity supply since the second half of 2007 have affected all South Africans, especially small businesses, health facilities and educational institutions. The energy crisis has affected South Africa’s economic growth and has led to job losses, business closures and increased inflation.
There are two logical conclusions to this “promise” to fix our energy crisis. Ramaphosa is just lying and there is no political will to do it. Or, they are good and sincere but lack the political capital to act.
Either way, we are in deep trouble and need a solution. And the solution, we believe, lies in the courts. That is why Build One South Africa has become part of a broad coalition of South Africans who have started legal proceedings against Eskom and the minister of public enterprises, Pravin Gordhan.
On behalf of frustrated South Africans, our action seeks to end the 18.65% tariff increase by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), end load-shedding, and hold the government accountable for its failure. providing electricity to the nation.
We are of the opinion that Eskom and the BUMN minister are in breach of their obligation to provide electricity. In particular, it violates at least four constitutionally protected human rights. Section 22 – the right to freely choose and practice a trade, occupation or profession; Section 24 – the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being; Section 27 – the right to health, food, water and social security; and section 29 – right to education.
Our legal team has issued a letter of demand which, if not responded to by January 20, will result in court action.
We ask for the following efforts:
First, there would be no burden without procedural fairness and a fair opportunity to make alternative arrangements for affected people and businesses.
Second, the burden of vomiting will be stopped immediately, and if not, a full explanation of why the government cannot stop it immediately. Or, a specific schedule is detailed when the open-disposal will end, and the reasons for the said schedule.
Third, the state will develop and make a clear plan for the public to end the burden, which plan must include the resources available to ensure that it can be realized.
Fourth, the 18.65% increase granted by Nersa will not be implemented pending the determination of this court challenge.
And finally, the state will reasonably compensate everyone who suffers a measurable financial loss as a result of the burden reduction.
In addition to this court action, we call on all South Africans to protest against this government. Load-shedding is not a natural disaster, it is a human disaster that the ANC has been dealing with for three presidents. Our protest must finally produce a new government that can put aside private interests and hold the state for the common good.
When the energy crisis is draining billions of rands every day, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and 1% of our annual GDP, the time for debate and dialogue is over. Wisely, there are many decisions that can be made without delay.
South Africa has significant potential to save money through energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. The country gets 90% of its electricity from coal, making it the 15th largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. At the same time, increasing economic growth and lack of investment in power plants lead to a shortage of electricity supply.
Increasing the diversity of South Africa’s power generation mix is important not only to improve the essential security of supply, but also to support job creation and climate change mitigation.
The country is in the fortunate position of having solar and wind resources readily available. Investments in renewable technologies such as photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power plants and wind turbines are important in this regard.
However, there is still a long way to go to reach the country’s renewable energy targets. This is true for large-scale renewable power generation, but also for the important potential of solar rooftop photovoltaic and biogas technologies that are currently untapped. In the coming years, South Africa will need to build around 40 000MW of new generation capacity to meet demand requirements.
According to the National Development Plan, 17 800 megawatts should be provided by renewable energy. To achieve this, the government plans to install 8 400MW of wind energy, 8 400MW of solar photovoltaic energy and 1 000MW of concentrated solar power by 2030.
Energy efficiency is important on both the supply and demand side. South Africa needs to get more of its energy supply from renewable sources. Eskom should be a regional energy supplier in the South African region, integrating renewable energy and partnering with other countries. Energy generation and distribution must be liberalized, and ensure energy security for every citizen and company.
This is based on a commitment to public-private partnerships in the sector – the best way to safeguard the future. It also serves to eliminate job reservations at Eskom, with the demands of trade unions above inflation to see salary increases for staff while the economy struggles.
As the energy crisis continues to affect our citizens with no sign or plan from the government to provide solutions to this problem, South Africans rightfully remain angry and feel prejudiced, while the cost of living continues to rise.
For our district to grow, develop and create new jobs, investment is needed. And no person or company will invest in a country that is not energy secure. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to demand this right – and get it now.
Mmusi Maimane is the leader of Build One South Africa.