Ramaphosa calls on SA not to panic over Eskom
22 March 2019
As he spoke of his conviction that South Africa would have free and fair elections on May 8, President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to all South Africans not to panic over Eskom.
Campaigning in Cape Town for the ANC on Friday, (March 22, 2019), President Ramaphosa said the Government was addressing the Eskom issue every day.
“A suggestion of sabotage has been made and investigations are underway. But at the same time, we’ve got to stabilize the grid. Fortunately, the Minister of Public Enterprises (Pravin Gordhan) has reported that they were able to revive and restore the power line from Cahora Bassa. So we will have an additional 900 megawatts,” President Ramaphosa told the news media.
He added: “We are addressing the Eskom issue every day. I’m saying to the whole nation let’s not panic let us join hands, close ranks and work together.”
Wherever he goes, President Ramaphosa said, people would address the issue. “That is why we are addressing it on an urgent basis. There is nothing much more urgent than restoring the power.”
The IEC was concerned about the issue of load-shedding, which he called debilitating. The problems facing the power grid would be addressed. “Because in the end, we want an election process that will not be weakened or interfered with or interrupted by load-shedding. So we’re pulling out all the stops to address those issues.”
South Africans were being given full information on the situation by a government that was being open and transparent. The challenges at Eskom emanated from the recent past. Many people were aware that a lot of wrong things, such as malfeasance, corruption and state capture, had gone on at Eskom.
“So once we are able to put the truth to the people of South Africa, they will decide. They will make their choice. What I’m worried about is we should be able to have a free and fair election. We’ve always had a free and fair election in the past, so my worries in that regard are reduced. All we now need to do in the next few days is go forward and campaign and make sure we spread the message to all the people of the country.”
Of his electioneering in Cape Town President Ramaphosa said that the support for the ANC was vibrant and alive.
“People are feeling very enthusiastic and they are rearing to go and vote on the 8th. That enthusiasm to vote is really at a high.”
In Mfuleni, President Ramaphosa urged ANC supporters to go out and vote so that that DA could be kicked out of power in the Western Cape.
“We see they have no interest at all for people who live in Elsies River, Mfuleni and Mitchells Plain and places like that. That’s why we say you must vote right so that the DA is kicked out of government. They don’t love our people and must be kicked out.”
Issued by Dennis Cruywagen, ANC Western Cape, 22 March 2019
