Cape Town – The ANC has expressed its support for Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa amid mixed reactions regarding his handling of the load shedding crisis.
Ramokgopa’s performance came under severe scrutiny this week after analysts alleged that Eskom quietly imposed stage 8 load shedding on unsuspecting South Africans, shedding more than 7 000MW of demand off the grid at one point, an amount that is shed from the grid when under stage 8.
Mzansi also rated Ramokgopa’s performance since his appointment, with some saying it was too early to tell, while others were adamant he hadn’t brought any noticeable change and would soon be known as “Mr stage 8”.
But ANC NEC member Mmamoloko Kubayi expressed concern at what she described as attacks on Ramokgopa by the media.
“We have seen a growth of lobby groups, and while we respect their rights in terms of the Constitution, we think that we have to at some point be patriotic in terms of the country and put South Africa first.
[WATCH] “We are concerned about the attacks on Sputla by the media. What we are having here is an engineering and technical problem; it’s not a political problem at Eskom.” -ANC NEC member Mmamoloko Kubayi briefing the media on the party’s energy crisis interventions. pic.twitter.com/5W4fzFt2g6
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 22, 2023
“We are concerned about the attacks on comrade Sputla (Ramokgopa) by journalists and where we differ, we should differ but what we are having here is an engineering and a technical problem at Eskom,” the report quoted Kubayi, as she briefed the media during the party’s four-day long National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Boksburg.
Meanwhile, EWN reported on Friday that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had also thrown his weight behind Ramokgopa, saying that he must be given executive powers to run his department and end load shedding.
Ramokgopa this week presented his energy action plan during a Cabinet meeting where both long and short-term plans were discussed.
The discussions took place on Wednesday and was convened by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
According to Mbalula, the ANC was pleased with Ramokgopa’s evaluation of the country’s electricity crisis, The Citizen reported.
“We look forward to mobilising all of society behind the decisive actions which we shall emerge from this NEC meeting with.
“Of course, the solutions related to energy are not an end in themselves but an important contributor to ensuring shared and lasting prosperity for all,” said Mbalula.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
