Speaking to ANC members in the Free State on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa spent a significant amount of time explaining our energy crisis, its genesis and what government hopes to do about it.
Understandably so, our rolling blackouts are foremost in the minds of South Africans and pressure is mounting on Ramaphosa and his government to take the nation out of the darkness in which we find ourselves.
Apart from the economic impact of power cuts, Ramaphosa’s handling of this crisis will have political implications for him and the ANC, come the 2024 national elections.
It is perhaps with this in mind that he appears desperate to be seen to be making the right noises, regardless of how unrealistic and populist some may be.
On Sunday, he told his audience that he had personally asked Eskom to consider halting the implementation of a 18% tariff increase granted to the power utility by the energy regulator, Nersa.
“It would be an injury to our people,” he said, further claiming that the Eskom board was considering his proposal.
Here’s the thing: Ramaphosa knows that this will not happen.
The president is correct that a further increase in tariffs, in particular during the height of rolling blackouts, is a slap in the face of already struggling consumers.
But suggesting that the Eskom board could, on his request, consider postponing the implementation of a decision of an independent regulator, is disingenuous and dangerous.
It suggests undue interference by the president in regulated affairs of Eskom to score cheap brownie points in the eyes of the public.
Equally problematic is that it creates a false expectation by citizens that such matters can be politically managed outside of the prescribed regulations. The problem, in particular with the latter, is that it does precisely the opposite of what Ramaphosa was hoping to do.
It does not demonstrate a government that cares but rather one that is willing to mislead the public during times of crisis to appear to be acting in our interest when in fact little is being done to fundamentally solve our pressing challenges.
The danger with this is that it further widens the trust deficit between government and people and stokes justified discontent among communities.
Ramaphosa, or any other leader for that matter, must be mindful of this the next time he takes to the podium to deliver more pie-in-the-sky rhetoric for political mileage.
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