PHUTI MOSOMANE
ECONOMIC Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says that South Africa is currently facing a crisis in the power sector and called on government to invite former Eskom CEOs Brian Molefe, Matshela Koko, and Jacob Maroga to return to the struggling power utility.
Malema addressed the media on Monday after a meeting with the EFF’s top party structure, the Central Command Team (CCT), reiterating his party’s call that “Cyril Ramaphosa must step down as South Africa’s President due to his repeated and persistent failures on everything”.
During the briefing, Malema emphasized the serious concerns of the EFF’s Central Command Team regarding the perceived lack of practical and implementable solutions from the governing party to address the persistent and worsening electricity blackouts in the country.
“When you are in a crisis you utilize methods that worked before. Brian Molefe, Matšhela Koko and Jacob Maroga must be brought back. So should all those Indian, coloured and white engineers. We are in a crisis. We are in crisis, and we are listening to people who have two passports. When things collapse, they will go to London and leave us here,” Malema said.
Malema also warned of an imminent national grid collapse going into the winter period.
“They never liked Brian Molefe because he could not be bullied. Together with Koko and Maroga, they must put their heads together and say this is how we will fix Eskom. I am not saying drop charges. We are not bringing them back from prison, no, they are at home. I am not saying he is innocent; can’t we humble ourselves and ask him to come back. That is why when Molefe went to Eskom, the workers were celebrating at every corner,” he said.
“Our country is collapsing, and a grid collapse will lead to the disruption of water supply, disruption of network connectivity, and high levels of crimes and looting. Ramaphosa must therefore step down with immediate effect, to avoid massive insurrection, and chaos which will occur when there is total grid collapse. Ramaphosa must step down with immediate effect.”
Malema said that the EFF has consistently opposed the idea of introducing a separate Minister of Electricity, advocating instead for Eskom to be placed under the authority of a single Minister of Energy.
During his address, Malema also called for the removal of the current Electricity Minister, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa. He accused Ramokgopa of corruption and expressed doubt regarding his ability to enhance Eskom’s performance.
“We don’t support anything to do with the Minister of Electricity. Government needs every little cent that we are wasting on Sputla (Ramokgopa), who is not going to help us with anything. Let Eskom be under one political leadership, and political authority so that they know they have no option but to take this political direction,” he added.
According to Malema, the EFF is firmly convinced that South Africa can address its electricity challenges by seeking expertise from its BRICS partners, specifically the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
He expressed confidence that with their extensive experience in the field, these countries can contribute to the realization of providing electricity to all citizens.
In terms of a medium-term solution, Malema suggested investing in neighbouring countries’ electricity capacity. This would involve initiatives such as investing in the second phase of the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power generation project in Mozambique and exploring other sources of electricity within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
“The EFF was vindicated because it is now accepted that it was a premature decision to rush to close coal power stations, or talks of abandoning coal as central to the generation of electricity in South Africa. The loans to abandon coal were opportunistic,” he said.
The most immediate solution to the crisis of electricity in South Africa, Malema said, is to plug in the floating power stations into the grid.
“We know for a fact that the reason Karpowership is not plugged into the grid despite being approved and despite the environmental concerns,” he said, adding that the continental long-term solution includes investing in, and completion of the Inga-Dam hydroelectric project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ramaphosa addressed ANC supporters in KwaZulu-Natal during the weekend and warned them to prepare for a challenging and power-constrained winter ahead.
On Monday, Eskom, the national power utility, stated that the demand for electricity was higher than expected due to the cold weather.
Additionally, two generating units experienced failures, with one unit being restored to service. Consequently, Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 6 loadshedding, starting at 15:00 today (previously communicated as 16:00).
Eskom has urged the public to stay informed by following their updates and has requested that non-essential appliances be switched off to reduce the strain on the power grid.
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