Cape Town – Greenpeace Africa activists staged a bold demonstration at the Africa Energy Indaba (AEI), as Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe delivered his speech on Tuesday.
The group of activists took to the stage with placards while Mantashe was addressing the AEI conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
When the picketers were escorted off the stage, Montashe invited them back.
“Leave them, they are looking for attention. Now you are giving them attention
“Come, come stand here,” he said pointing the activists back to the stage.
#AEI2023 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, is delivering the opening address at the 15th annual Africa Energy Indaba kicking off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this morning.
? @KevinJohnBrandt – KB pic.twitter.com/ki2ZzFrRVV
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 7, 2023
According to News24, the minister emphasised his stance on coal, adding that those against it “will be disappointed for many years”.
“Coal will be with us for many years to come.
“Those who see it as a road to corruption, they will be disappointed for many years. Coal is going to outlive many of us,” the report quoted Mantashe as saying.
He said the focus should be on resolving the energy crisis rather than turning away from coal.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace Africa’s Climate and Energy Campaigner, Thandile Chinyavanhu said: “Coal is a dangerous dead-end pushing South Africa to the brink of destruction, yet almost all of South Africa’s electricity comes from an ancient fleet of coal-fired power stations which are literally falling apart, breaking down more quickly than they can be fixed.”
She argued that fast tracking a shift to renewable energy is the solution but “the minister was too biased to see the solution”.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
