Riyaz Patel
South Africa faces an imminent energy crisis if there is no urgency to turn things around, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy warned Monday.
This is after the Central Energy Fund (CEF) briefed the committee Friday about the crisis facing national oil company PetroSA with regard to the expected depletion of indigenous feedstock by 2020.
Committee chairperson Sahlulele Luzipo said he was “concerned about the fact that a multilayered board could be responsible for slow decision-making,” which he noted was “not a sustainable business practice” in a competitive environment.
The committee strongly believes that PetroSA should be empowered to become a strategic ‘standalone oil and gas company.’
Another concern, the committee noted, was that many senior officials at the CEF and its subsidiaries, as well as other entities under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, was being appointed in an acting capacity.
“This is dangerous for the country because there is an extent to which a person in an acting capacity can take decisive decisions,” Luzipho said, adding that the exercise is also costly.
The parliamentary body plans to convene an urgent meeting with the CEF within the next two weeks.
It agreed with Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, saying government cannot afford to abolish coal-fired power generation all at once.
The committee believes that, although the country should be moving towards renewable energy in line with the international treaties, to mitigate for climate change, coal should still be regarded as part of the Integrated Resources Plan.
