Durban – The newly appointed Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said that he is “very confident” that there will be an end to load shedding.
Ramokgopa, who was sworn in on Tuesday as a minister, said that there is an energy action plan with timelines in place.
He was speaking to the media shortly after he was sworn in by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo at Tuynhuys in Cape Town.
“There is an energy action plan, it already has timelines there. Ask the question whether we are able to meet these timelines, if the answer is no, then why is it that we can’t meet these timelines.
“If it requires us invoking the provision of the Disaster Management Act then we will do that and then present to the council.
“I know that there is an appetite that is justified from our people, they really want to know when is load shedding going to end.
“The point I am making is that we are going to be honest and transparent with the South African people about our ability to address this,” Ramokgopa told the media.
According to the EskomSePush app, there was 81 days of load shedding in 2022.
This means South Africans were in darkness for more than 20% of the year.
In 2021, there was 48 days of load shedding and 35 days in 2020.
According to Eskom’s integrated annual reports detailing its energy availability factor (EAF), there’s been a steady decline in the amount of energy available.
Analytics show that Eskom’s EAF fell by about 20% over a decade, between 2013 and 2022.
Eskom’s former chief executive officer, Andre de Ruyter, did not bear the same feelings towards the end of load shedding as the new minister does.
After an explosive interview with Annika Larsen on national television, he said that a minister in the government was made aware of the serious levels of corruption and theft but did nothing.
De Ruyter agreed when asked by Larsen if Eskom had become “a feeding trough” for the ANC.
But the ANC came out guns blazing, with Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula calling on De Ruyter to back up his allegations with facts and evidence.
It was later revealed, through a News24 report, that de Ruyter had already briefed national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, about the findings he spoke about during the TV interview.
De Ruyter also shared his account on how he was poisoned with cyanide in his coffee, in what is believed to be an attempt on his life shortly after his resignation.
“MyBroadband” reported that De Ruyter may be leaving the country due to safety reasons.
Eskom’s debt is about R400 billion.
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