CHARLES MOLELE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the new Minister of Electricity in the Presidency responsible for resolving the electricity crisis.
Ramaphosa made the changes to his Cabinet on Monday night during a live address to the nation from the Union Buildings, Pretoria.
He said the Minister for Electricity has been tasked with dealing with the immediate crisis of load shedding in South Africa.
“The primary task of the new Minister will be to significantly reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding as a matter of urgency,” said Ramaphosa.
“To effectively oversee the electricity crisis response, the appointed Minister will have political responsibility, authority and control over all critical aspects of the Energy Action Plan.”
He said Ramokgopa will be expected to facilitate the coordination of numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.
“The recently published disaster regulations empower the Minister of Electricity to issue directions to, among others, exclude critical facilities from load shedding where technically feasible; expedite various regulatory processes for energy projects; and enable Eskom to undertake critical maintenance more quickly and efficiently,” said Ramaphosa.
“The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will liaise with other relevant Ministers to ensure coherence in the issuing of other directions during the national state of disaster.”
The State of Disaster was declared during Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on February 9.
The Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will remain in office only for as long as it is necessary to resolve the electricity crisis, added Ramaphosa.
Ramokgopa, who was previously the Mayor of Tshwane, was head of the investment and infrastructure office in the Office of the President until his appointment on Monday.
Ramokgopa holds a Phd in Public Affairs from the University of Pretoria, a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Pretoria and a Masters in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa (UNISA). He completed his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Civil Engineering at the University of Durban Westville in 1998.
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