President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a state of national disaster in response to the ongoing energy crisis and said he has appointed an energy minister in the presidency to focus specifically on ending load shedding.
The state of emergency was effective immediately. This was gazetted shortly before Ramaphosa delivered his seventh State of the Nation (Sona) address, in which he acknowledged that burden-cutting has left South Africans in despair, but called on the country to overcome it.
“[As] Tonight, in homes across the country, many people are suffering, many are worried, many are unsure and many are hopeless.
“The energy crisis is an existential threat to our economy and the fabric of our society,” he said. “Our immediate priority is to restore electricity.”
The need for a state of emergency has been questioned, including by government advisers, since it was decided by the ruling party last week, but Ramaphosa said the need for “strong central coordination and decisive action” was needed to prevent the crisis.
“Disaster conditions will allow us to provide practical measures to support businesses in food production, storage and retail supply chains, including to launch generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply,” he said.
“If technically possible, we can exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from the burden.
“And it will allow us to speed up energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining environmental protection, procurement principles and strict technical standards.”
He said that the auditor general will continuously monitor the expenditure during the disaster situation to guard against misuse of funds which is a defining feature of the disaster situation implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ramaphosa is expected to reshuffle the cabinet in the coming days, but the announcement that he will name the minister of electricity in the presidency, but leave Eskom alone in the portfolio of public companies, removes some suspense and signals that he wants to limit power. Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe. It also signals that Ramaphosa plans to centralize more power in the presidency, after previously bringing oversight of state security to his office.
Energy experts are increasingly citing Mantashe as part of the problem because of the regressive championing of coal and a halt in renewable energy. But as a key political ally and chairman of the ruling ANC, Ramaphosa could not dismiss him.
The President said the new electricity minister will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee, and working closely with Eskom’s board and management.
“In order to eliminate confusion, the minister of public enterprises will remain the representative of Eskom’s shareholders and direct the restructuring of Eskom, ensure the establishment of a transmission company, oversee the implementation of a fair energy transition program, and oversee the establishment of a BUMN holding company,” he said.
Ramaphosa said there was no point dwelling on past mistakes that led to ongoing burdens.
“We cannot undo the mistakes made in the past, the capacity that has not been built, the damage done to power plants due to lack of maintenance, or the effects of state capture on our institutions.
“What we can do is to fix the problem today, so that the lights are on tomorrow and for the generations to come.”
There will be no new plan to map the way out of the crisis, he stressed. But the country will double down to drive through five key measures announced in July, among them improving Eskom’s coal-fired plant, fast tracking the addition of other renewable energy to the grid, the extension of the transmission line to the southern provinces of the country to bring. more wind and solar power online, launching rooftop solar systems and opening up the energy sector to competition.
“We are not presenting new plans… All these measures will result in a massive increase in power for the grid in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.
In the meantime, the government will help Eskom to secure funding to enable it to burn more solar to ease the burden. The utility will have emergency power available for six months, and investment will go into new transmission lines and substations, “especially in areas such as the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape”.
Ramaphosa said the dismantling of Eskom would continue and the national transmission company would be “soon operational”. The national treasury will find a way to restructure the electricity utility debt mountain of more than R400 billion. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill will be tabled in parliament later this year.
Ramaphosa’s shift from energy to water and transport is the next infrastructure priority on his to-do list, including restructuring the port and rail company Transnet and reviving the stalled Umzimvubu Water Project.
He recommitted to the fight against corruption – with special words of thanks to Chief Justice Raymond Zondo for the work of the state capture investigation he led – and to build an effective state.
“The biggest weakness is in state companies and local governments,” he said, before pledging to move forward with plans to clean up municipalities and improve police and prosecution services.
“Communities across our country fear for the safety of their families. This situation cannot continue,” Ramaphosa said.
He concluded his speech by calling on South Africans to believe that the country can emerge from many crises or, as he said, “tons of difficulties”, stronger than before, with less violence, poverty and unemployment, and with a vision from the land of opportunity restored.
“We need to do all this, not only to address the immediate challenges, but to renew the promise of South Africa.
“This is a promise we keep alive in our hearts and actions.”