The ANC insists the impending appointment of a minister of electricity and the establishment of a state-owned holding company for SA’s struggling state-owned enterprises (SOEs) does not contradict the party’s 55th conference resolution that they should be moved to their line departments.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced these steps in his state of the nation address as part of a list of plans to end the energy crisis, which threatens SA’s parlous economy, and to address inefficiencies in SOEs that have a material effect on their development mandates.
The announcement comes with a cabinet reshuffle on the cards. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says it would be speculative to start pointing out departments that may be rationalised when the work is yet to commence.
Magwenya told reporters on Sunday that the announcement of who would occupy the position of minister of electricity will made “fairly soon”.
“He[Ramaphosa] wants a minister that is hands on ... once we are out of this crisis the president will review the need for the role,” Magwenya said.
The reconfiguration of Ramaphosa’s cabinet was necessitated by vacancies in the department of public service and administration in 2022 and by the outcome of the ANC national conference in December which saw transport minister Fikile Mbalula elected to the full-time position of secretary-general and deputy president David Mabuza not being elected into any leadership position.
Mabuza has publicly announced his intention to resign as the country’s second-in-command, a move expected to pave the way for ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile, who was recently sworn in as an MP along with three new ANC national executive members, to take over the reins.
Presidency
The addition of a minister of electricity located in the presidency, together with the departments of mineral resources and energy and public enterprises, will mean there will be three ministries managing the electricity sector. This situation has led to organised business expressing concern about the multi-department arrangement.
“Delineating clear responsibilities will be important, particularly between the ministers of energy and electricity,” Business Leadership SA says.
“We hope the new minister will be able to accelerate the processes needed to address both the short-term imperative of addressing load-shedding and the longer-term need to increase the country’s electricity generation capacity at a faster pace.”
Mbalula insisted on Friday that the minister of electricity will be a project manager with no budget or deputy minister.
“The minister of electricity is an intervention and not part of reconfiguration. It could end with the end of load-shedding. This minister will be given a mandate, further refined, so there are no bullies in the system who say this is my territory. The minister of electricity will live, eat and breathe at Eskom and update us,” Mbalula said.
“There will be no deputy minister. We are faced with a momentous crisis for this country in terms of business and SA as a brand. It tells a story about us and blackouts. We are facing a disaster and we need to arrest it.”
He said that the establishment of an SOE holding company is not a departure from the ANC conference resolution but rather a “measure of intervention”.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.