Cape Town – Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the government is committed to ensuring sufficient electricity supply to hospitals during load shedding.
Ramokgopa visited Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital over the weekend to assess the impact of power cuts on healthcare facilities.
Currently, the exemption of hospitals from load shedding is a subject of a court case, with the government being compelled to provide exemptions.
During load shedding, hospital theaters are forced to suspend operations, and hospitals resort to using expensive diesel to power critical equipment.
According to EWN, Ramokgopa said that the government is actively seeking solutions to mitigate the impact of load shedding on hospitals and plans to visit healthcare facilities in other provinces to assess their needs and provide assistance if necessary.
“We are not just doing an examination of Bara but we are also got a comprehensive presentation around the state of electricity supply in all the hospitals,” the report quoted Ramokgopa as saying.
Ramokgopa says government is looking at solutions to reduce loadshedding in hospitals and other critical infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/0e31oikXLe
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 27, 2023
Meanwhile, The Citizen reported on Sunday that the electricity minister has hit the ground running with the new powers given to him by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Last week Ramaphosa clarified Ramokgopa’s functions and powers.
The minister had been operating without executive powers since his appointment in March this year.
Ramaphosa said his primary responsibility is to address the ongoing issue of load shedding, where the country experiences power outages for up to 12 hours a day.
His tasks include procuring new generation capacity, ensuring a secure supply of electricity, and developing a transmission expansion plan to meet anticipated demand.
Previously, these responsibilities belonged to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe.
The Citizen cited City Press as saying that Ramokgopa wasted no time and met with Police Minister Bheki Cele and the president’s security adviser Sydney Mufamadi to discuss increasing security at power stations and investigating sabotage incidents.
Power station managers previously attributed Eskom’s problems to theft and sabotage, often for political or personal reasons.
The report said that Ramokgopa intends to involve soldiers and police officers in guarding power stations.
The minister believes that the new powers granted to him will enable him to effectively address load shedding.
“It does make a big difference, because now [I am] able to execute my mandate with some degree of authority that derives from a piece of legislation. It also helps to ensure that there are clear lines of accountability,” the report quoted him as saying.
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Picture: Twitter/@Kgosientsho_R
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
