President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced Kgosientsho Sputla Ramokgopa as the new electricity minister who will focus on solving the electricity crisis at Eskom.
“The state of emergency will allow the new minister of electricity to relieve certain institutions from shedding the burden. This minister will remain in office as long as necessary to solve the energy crisis,” Ramaphosa said when announcing the cabinet reshuffle in a live televised address.
He said that the electricity minister will coordinate all departments responsible for the energy response, and will also be responsible for the turnaround plan and monitoring of new generation capacity.
“The main task of the electricity minister is to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding, to oversee the response to the electricity crisis. He will have political responsibility for all aspects of the energy action plan,” said Ramaphosa, adding that the new minister would “speed up the various regulatory processes for projects energy; and allow Eskom to carry out critical maintenance faster and more efficiently”.
Ramaphosa announced in his state of the nation address last month that he would appoint an electricity minister to resolve the Eskom crisis and also declare a state of emergency to address the power shortages affecting the country.
Eskom, once an award-winning utility, is struggling to keep the lights on and push South Africa into permanent load shedding. The utility has been dealing with power outages for years, but 2022 is the worst and 2023 has already started with longer outages.
Dealing with power outages
Ramaphosa said the electricity minister will help curb the corruption and mismanagement that has plunged the country into darkness and will work with the energy minister and public enterprises to deal with the burden.
Eskom is fighting corruption and looting allegations by former CEO Andre de Ruyter. De Ruyter said there was a security report on the utility detailing one month of corruption and sabotage at several Eskom plants in Mpumalanga and that two cabinet ministers were involved in corruption.
Ramokgopa confirmed his interest in the position last month when he published a 37-page document titled SA’s Infrastructure Emergency: Urgent and Collaborative Intervention. He warned that the country would collapse economically, including its water and port infrastructure.
“In terms of the energy situation, this is no longer a crisis, but an emergency. The country’s inability to provide sustainable and reliable resources has long led to immediate risks, with the situation getting worse over time,” wrote Ramokgopa.
Who is Ramokgopa?
He was the president’s head of investment and infrastructure and was previously the leader of the South African Student Congress, the ANC Youth League at the University of Durban Westville and the ANC branch in Atteridgeville. He was a member of the ANC 51 council from 2000 to 2005.
He served as CEO of Metropolitan Trading Company, a City of Johannesburg entity, CEO of Johannesburg Market, and vice-chairman of the trade and investment board in Limpopo.
Ramokgopa was the mayor of Tshwane from 2010 to 2016 and was also an executive councilor in the Gauteng government in 2019.
She was an executive councilor for economic development, agriculture, and the environment for less than five months before she resigned amid reported pressure from the ANC to appoint women to the position.
He holds several academic qualifications, including a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Durban Westville (now a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal), a Master of Public Administration (University of Pretoria) and a Master of Business Leadership (Unisa). .
He also holds a certificate in executive development from the University of Stellenbosch and a PhD in public affairs from the University of Pretoria.
Mandisa Nyathi is a fellow climate reporter, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa.