By the time you’re reading this, President Cyril Ramaphosa may well have made a national announcement to quell the dire electricity crisis, along with a promise that rolling blackouts will soon come to an end.
But I want to warn all South Africans to take it with a grain of salt. It’s not the first time Ramaphosa has pulled this trick, and it certainly won’t be the last.
This task of changing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) (top of the list is Eskom) was entrusted to then Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa almost a decade ago. On September 2, 2015, he told parliament: “In another 18 months or two years, you will forget the challenges we had around power and energy and Eskom ever happened.”
Fast forward seven years to July 2022, when the same man, now the president of the country, sent out his weekly bulletin stating: “Then, in the days ahead, we will be able to announce a comprehensive set of actions to achieve much faster progress.” in the fight against load shedding.
“We have been working with relevant ministers and senior officials on a number of additional measures to speed up all efforts to increase our electricity supply. The message is clear: this is not the time for business as usual. We need to act boldly to make cargo shedding a thing of the past.”
The ongoing and persistent blackouts that have plagued the country’s electricity supply since the second half of 2007 have severely affected all South Africans, particularly small businesses, health centers and educational institutions. The energy crisis has affected South Africa’s economic growth, leading to job losses, business closures and rising inflation.
There are two logical conclusions from these “promises” to solve our energy crisis. Or Ramaphosa is simply lying and there is no political will to do so. Or, he means well and is sincere, but he doesn’t have the political capital to act.
Either way, we are in serious trouble and we need a solution. And that solution, we believe, is in the hands of the judiciary. That is why Build One South Africa has been part of a broad coalition of South Africans who have launched legal proceedings against Eskom and the Minister for Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan.
On behalf of frustrated South Africans, our action seeks to legally stop the 18.65% rate increase by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), end load shedding and hold the government accountable for failing to provide electricity to the nation.
We are of the opinion that Eskom and the minister of public companies are failing in their obligation to provide electricity. In particular, this infringes at least four constitutionally enshrined human rights. Article 22 — the right to freely choose and exercise a trade, occupation or profession; Article 24 — the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; Article 27 — right to health, food, water and social security; and Section 29 — the right to education.
Our legal team has issued a demand letter which, if not responded to by January 20, will result in legal action.
We demand the following commitments:
First, that there will be no burden reduction without procedural fairness and a fair opportunity to make alternative arrangements for affected individuals and businesses.
Second, will that load reduction be stopped effective immediately, and if not, a full explanation as to why the government can’t stop it effective immediately. Alternatively, a specific schedule detailing when load shedding will end and the reasons for such schedule.
Third, that the State develop and make available to the public a clear plan to end load shedding, a plan that must include the resources available to ensure that it is carried out.
Fourth, that the 18.65% increase granted by Nersa will not be implemented until this judicial challenge is resolved.
And, finally, that the State undertakes to reasonably indemnify all those who have suffered quantifiable economic losses due to load cuts.
Along with this legal action, we are calling on all South Africans to protest against this government. The load disconnect is not a natural disaster, it is a human disaster inflicted by the ANC in the span of three presidents. Our protest must ultimately result in a new government where we can eliminate private interests and state capture for public interests.
As the energy crisis throws off billions of rand a day, hundreds of thousands of jobs and 1% of our annual GDP, the time for debate and dialogue is over. Regarding policies, there are many decisions that can be implemented without delay.
South Africa has significant potential to save money through energy efficiency and to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix. The country gets 90% of its electricity from coal, making it one of the top 15 emitters of carbon dioxide globally. At the same time, increasing economic growth and lack of investment in power plants are causing shortages in the supply of electricity.
Increasing the diversity of South Africa’s electricity generation mix is important not only to improve security of supply, which is vitally important, but also to support job creation and mitigate climate change.
The country is in the fortunate position of having excellent solar and wind resources 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 meet the country’s renewable energy targets. This is true for large-scale renewable energy plants, but also for the significant potential of rooftop solar PV and biogas technology, which is currently untapped. In the next few years, South Africa needs to build around 40,000 MW of new generation capacity to meet demand requirements.
According to the National Development Plan, 17,800 megawatts must be provided by renewable energy. To achieve this, the government plans to install 8,400MW of wind power, 8,400MW of photovoltaic solar power and 1,000MW of concentrated solar power by 2030.
Energy efficiency is important on both the supply and demand sides. South Africa needs to get a greater supply of energy services from renewable sources. Eskom needs to become a regional energy provider in the southern African region, integrating renewable energy and collaborating with other nations. It is necessary to liberalize the generation and distribution of energy, while guaranteeing the energy security of all citizens and companies.
This is rooted in the commitment to public-private partnerships in the sector, the surest way to safeguard the future. It also serves to remove job backlogs at Eskom, with union demands well above inflation that see pay rises for staff as the economy struggles.
As the energy crisis continues to affect our citizens without any sign or plan from the government to find solutions to resolve this issue, South Africans remain angry and prejudiced, while the cost of living continues to rise.
For our county to grow, prosper, and create new jobs, investment is needed. And no person or company will invest in a nation that does not have energy security. We owe it to ourselves and to succeeding generations to get this right, and to do it right now.
Mmusi Maimane is the leader of Build One South Africa.
