This week, SA will continue to be plagued by power blackouts. Eskom has announced stage 6 load-shedding until further notice, as a result of breakdowns at power stations.
Because of the Eskom crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his trip to Davos, Switzerland, this week for the annual jamboree of world leaders, economists and investors. The discussions focus particularly on how the global community can reset priorities and reform systems as a response to emerging global threats.
Ramaphosa is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties, the national energy crisis committee and the Eskom board, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said.
He added that further briefing sessions with key stakeholders will take place this week.
Speaking at an economic dialogue hosted by the ANC in January, the party’s national chair and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, said that the electricity crisis dented public and investor confidence and could not be allowed to continue.
The official opposition, the DA, will this week mobilise a march to the ANC’s headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg against continued load-shedding.
Ramaphosa continues to consider a cabinet reshuffle after the ANC’s national conference in December.
According to ANC leaders and Ramaphosa’s aides, serious consultations are expected at the end of January before the state of the nation address in February.
But first the ANC must decide on a new spokesperson and head of economic subcommittees at the party’s next national executive committee meeting.
Also this week, ActionSA Gauteng provincial chair Bongani Baloyi will visit Selang Primary School in Leboneng, Hammanskraal, where the Gauteng Provincial Government failed to maintain infrastructure, leading to the school’s closure.
Cadre deployment
A potentially significant court case has been set down for January 23-24: the DA’s challenge to the ANC’s cadre deployment policy as unconstitutional. It is said that cadre deployment enabled state capture during Jacob Zuma’s presidency.
Though the cabinet has more recently signalled a shift to merit-based recruitment in the public service, it will still oppose the DA’s challenge. That should be interesting, given that the court has demanded minutes from ANC deployment meetings.
Also in late January is the Constitutional Court’s deadline for the amendment of the Electoral Act — a crucial legislative shift ahead of 2024, as it will allow independent candidates to contest national and provincial elections.
Civil society organisations argue that the bill is not yet up to scratch, but time is running out, as the court has already granted parliament two postponements.
As for parliament, the building in which it is housed is still in the early stages of repair after a fire in 2022. As a result, it’s still not clear where the state of the nation address — scheduled for February 9 — will be held. With Reuters
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