President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet are facing a huge task today of finding a solution to the country’s power crisis amid calls from opposition parties for Eskom executives to be fired and for experts to monitor the turnaround plan presented two months ago.
Ramaphosa cut his trip overseas short this week after the country was plunged into darkness with Eskom implementing stage 6 for the second time this year.
This intensified calls from opposition parties and the business community for the government to take accountability for the energy crisis that is threatening the country’s sluggish economic growth.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said the government had failed to make any progress on addressing the energy crisis since announcing its plan in July.
“Two months into it, South Africans still do not have clarity on any of the promises made in the plan. This includes the recruiting and rehiring of experienced engineers and managers, procurement of electricity from neighbouring countries and steps taken to combat sabotage and theft at Eskom and the plan to incentivise residential and commercial solar installations,” Steenhuisen said.
Ramaphosa presented to the nation in July a comprehensive plan that would see independent power producers playing a bigger role in renewable energy generation.
Steenhuisen said the progress on the implementation of the plan must be monitored by industry experts as Ramaphosa and his cabinet have “completely lost control”.
Meanwhile, the EFF demanded the immediate firing of Eskom's entire board, including CEO Andre de Ruyter and COO Jan Oberholzer.
The party said the board was incompetent in the wake of escalating load-shedding stages.
“The incompetence and arrogance of Eskom executives has plunged SA into a perpetual and unwarranted darkness that is killing businesses and livelihoods. The collapse of Eskom and the failure to prove dependable and consistent energy supplier are meant to render the country's electricity utility redundant and useless,” the party said.
The party said the executives were “dishonest” and intended to hand over the country’s energy generation to the greedy establishment.
Ramaphosa's plan also received criticism from the Black Business Council (BBC), which said it did not believe the plan would yield successful results.
BBC questioned the ability of the Eskom executives and board to manage such a critical situation that the country is facing.
ANC alliance partner, the SACP, also criticised the plan, saying it would destroy Eskom as it places emphasis on the private sector which is not accountable to the people of this country.
— Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
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