In an interview with 702, Minister of Mineral and Energy Resources, Gwede Mantashe cited lack of investments in new power stations by the private sector as a cause for South Africa’s energy disaster.
“When the Eskom board said to the state there will be the end of the electricity surplus by 2007, please start the build programme, they delayed it because they banked on the private sector taking an interest. No private sector took an interest’’, he said.
However, the DA has shot back and accused Mantashe for using the private sector as a scapegoat for his failure to do his job.
The party’s Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Kevin Mileham has put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the ANC and accused the ruling party of dradding its feet on the Eskom and loadshedding crisis and accused Mantashe of failing in his duty as minister responsible for energy.
“The reality is that no amount of blame shifting will hide the undeniable fact that Mantashe has, since his appointment, failed to move the needle on the procurement of independent power generation and the incentivisation of private investment in the sector.
“Together with his ANC comrades, he has fostered policy and regulatory uncertainty, and has not moved fast enough to remove red tape impeding the active participation of Independent Power Producers,” he said.
Mileham further highlighted the danger that the ongoing power outages poses on people’s livelihoods and s Maidantashe and the ANC must account.
‘’Eskom’s inability to maintain a regular supply of electricity, effectively subjecting the country to rolling blackouts much more frequently than any time in the past 14 years, has become the single biggest threat to our economy. Instead of taking responsibility for creating this crisis, the ANC and Gwede Mantashe have decided to shift blame to imaginary villains’’, he added.
In numerous media briefings, the presidency has assured residents that it is working tirelessly to end the scourge of rolling blackouts and among others, denying claims of a conflict between Mantshe, Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa,and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
‘’So, there is no conflict and of course in the media, there’s talk of this conflict and that conflict… There is no conflict as far as I am concerned and I know exactly the delineation of the tasks of these three ministers and truth be told, the ministers themselves are surprised that there is this talk of conflict,” said president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Eskom is this week implementing various stages of loadshedding including stage 6.
