Phuti Mosomane
EFF leader Julius Malema told thousands of his supporters at the FNB Stadium on Saturday that the party will end loadshedding if it comes to power after the 2024 elections.
Malema said while the EFF is not opposed to the implementation of the Just Energy Transition in principle, no coal-powered stations must be closed until a time when renewable power sources are able to produce enough electricity at the pace that is sustainable and reliable.
“We are not going to close coal-powered stations until Just-In-Transition produces equivalent megawatts to the same power coal power stations you want us to close.
“So why is there a story that we must not use coal in South Africa, yet we see tons and millions and millions of tons being taken out of South Africa, where are they going?
“Fighters, me and you are going to defeat loadshedding. Only the EFF can stop load shedding in South Africa,” he said, adding that the EFF is “taking government in 2024.”
He said South Africa is in a financial crisis and therefore, only an organisation like the EFF can rescue this country.
“We don’t want load shedding in South Africa. We want reliable electricity provided to schools, hospitals and businesses uninterrupted,” he said, adding that the EFF can protect the provision of electricity in South Africa.
Last week, electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa admitted that Komati Power Station was closed prematurely.
“If I had my way we would go and restart the units at Komati. We closed a power station which was the best performing power station at the time that we closed it and because someone gave us money and said decarbonise we are getting 217 megawatts of alternative energy and we removed 1 000 megawatts,” Ramokgopa told a meeting organised by Standard Bank.
Energy expert Lungile Mashele said it is a difficult choice between implementing Just Energy Transition on the one hand and securing jobs and reliable electricity supply on the other.
She said the coal industry employs over 90 000 people.
“Looking at the economics of it all, if you are taking away an industry that basically employs 90 000 direct workers, what are you going to replace it with? Currently the government has not put on the table any such plan,” she said.
South Africa has been experiencing rampant electricity blackouts which saw Eskom implementing various stages of load shedding leading to job losses and loss of income to businesses.
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