Gauteng’s provincial government has released R1.2bn to resolve the energy crisis dogging SA’s economic and commercial hub, premier Panyaza Lesufi said in his maiden state of the province address (Sopa) on Monday.
The electricity crisis in the country has resulted in factories closing, adding to the high joblessness in the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the electricity crisis a state of disaster. This makes critical infrastructure including hospitals exempt from power cuts that leave businesses and consumers without electricity.
In his speech at the Johannesburg City Hall, Lesufi said: “In a few weeks we will appoint six developers who will commence the construction of an 800 megawatt solar farm in Merafong. This will be followed by the installation of rooftop solar panels on government buildings especially hospitals, clinics and schools.”
The provincial government will engage with the City of Johannesburg’s power distribution utility, City Power, as well as the Tshwane metro’s Rooiwal facility “with an intention of supporting them to expand and generate more power”.
“We will meet with owners of Kelvin Power Station to establish how we can partner with them to limit load-shedding in Gauteng.
“From next week, we will advertise a call for proposals for alternative suppliers of energy that can contribute to solution of the energy crisis and the re-industrialisation of Gauteng,” said Lesufi.
He said his provincial government learnt from corruption involved in the procurement of PPE [personal protection equipment⟩ during the Covid-19 pandemic, and will work with the Gauteng ethics advisory committee and the auditor-general to ensure that new energy initiatives are transparent, fair and equitable.
“We will also invest in rooftop solar panels in health facilities, schools and libraries to ensure they have energy and can provide much-needed services to our communities,” said Lesufi.
Through the township economic development act, aimed at giving the government support to township businesses owned by South Africans, Lesufi said that from April 1 “we will use 60% of the R34bn goods and services budget to support township initiatives”.
“We are establishing a digital database (township business register) of all businesses in townships. We are told that the reasons our spaza shops are struggling is because they don’t have a collective buying power,” he said.
Lesufi said his administration put together “a taxi fund to the tune of R20m as a seed capital for the taxi association to raise money in the market”.
“Taxi ranks will be our future shopping stations. We will be launching taxi ranks of the future, a one-stop shop, for taxi parts and tyres, banks, restaurants and many other related businesses such as filling stations.”
“A new model of taxi rank of the future will be unveiled. We are excited about this project,” said Lesufi.
To loud applause, he announced that E-tolls had been scrapped in Gauteng. He said that together with the ministries of finance and transport, the government will soon make a joint announcement in this regard.
“We are on the verge of agreeing on all matters that will finally allow us to gazette switching off the gantries. Matters related to debt repayment and the money collected from paying customers as well as funds not collected from nonpaying customers.”
Fighting crime was the provincial government’s apex priority. The crime-fighting budget will be increased from R750m to “multibillions in the next three years”.
On the state of local government in the province, Lesufi said municipalities in the province owed cash-strapped Eskom R8.6bn. “Of this, R6bn is owed by Emfuleni municipality alone,” said Lesufi. The provincial government will intervene to assist the local municipality to appoint a capable municipal manager and CFO, he said.
“The other municipality that is worrying us is Tshwane, which has deteriorated, is struggling to pay Eskom, and the latest auditor-general report has painted a bleak picture of a collapsing municipality.”
“We will intervene in that municipality as a matter of urgency. Let me take this opportunity to bid farewell to the mayor of Tshwane [Randall Williams] whom I never had the opportunity to meet,” said Lesufi.
Williams resigned with immediate effect on February 13, saying that his untimely exit was in the best interests of the council’s multiparty coalition.
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