Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams' energy relief promises exposed as mere posturing as load-shedding crisis persists
27 November 2023
There is currently no greater challenge for small businesses in South Africa than the load-shedding crisis and the ANC’s inability to ensure a sustainable energy supply.
It should come as no surprise that over the course of the weekend we once again returned to stage 6 load-shedding. Big businesses and much of the formal sector have learned to adapt to these ongoing power disruptions, at a great cost I must add, however, the small business sector, which is the largest employer in the country, still faces the near insurmountable challenge of getting access to uninterrupted electricity largely due to very limited financial resources.
There was, however, a very brief light in the small business tunnel. On 18 January 2023, the Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, announced the development of an energy relief package for small, medium, informal, and micro businesses. This initiative, which was seemingly intended to alleviate the detrimental impact of load shedding on these businesses, was a response to the urgent need to support an already struggling sector, further battered by the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, severe flood damages, and a hostile and overly complex bureaucratic framework. It is worth noting that this announcement was met with overwhelming support, from ourselves, other political parties, and small business stakeholders.
Yet, today, 10 months later, no further information or progress on this promised relief package has been communicated and no budget item exists for it. The Minister’s silence and inaction are especially glaring given the absence of any mention of this relief package in the National Budget presented in February and the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).