EFF statement on the Minister of Electricity’s perpetual lies about the amounts of electricity that can be brought into South Africa’s grid
1 June 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters condemn with contempt the perpetual lies of the Minister of Electricity on possible solutions to the current crisis of load shedding in South Africa. In his desperate attempt to appear sophisticated, Mr. Ramakgopa compiles lies and provides impossible and impractical solutions to South Africa's energy crisis.
In his address to Parliament on the 31st of May 2023, Mr. Ramakgopa made the following misleading statements.
1. He said that in the immediate future, South Africa will bring about 1500 megawatts of electricity from Lesotho. Lesotho does not have 1500 megawatts, and building such capacity will take no less than 10 years. The only hydroelectric power station that exists in Lesotho produces, the Miles Hydroelectric Station, which is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project produces only 72 megawatts.
2. Mr. Ramakgopa further committed to bringing into action 4200 megawatts within the next 90 days, despite an explicit legislative prohibition on ESKOM participating in electricity generation as part of the conditionalities for the ESKOM Rescue Bill.
3. He further committed to bringing 19500 megawatts, some of which will come from solar infrastructure, which has proven to be an unreliable source of on-the-grid electricity.
4. He further committed to an additional 1500 megawatts that will come from wheeling agreements. This does not specify the source of the electricity that must be wheeled.
5. These false commitments are made when ESKOM has been instructed to discontinue the construction of additional generation capacity and when, in the current budget and next three years' budgets, there is no allocation of money to be spent on the generation of electricity. The Minister underplays the possibility of a grid collapse, which can and will happen if the government continues to base its solutions on lies and misinformation.
Whilst we are fully aware that the ANC and its Ministers thrive on lies and misleading information and commitments, the nature, form, and extent given by the Minister of Electricity are dangerous and apocalyptic. They are apocalyptic because if taken seriously, they will prevent the government and the people of South Africa from developing and coming up with sound, practical, and implementable solutions to electricity.
We, as the EFF, reiterate our demand that capable municipalities must be allocated adequate resources to pursue off-grid, hybrid, and micro-grid solutions which will insulate critical infrastructure and protect essential services at all times. We make this demand because the national government has demonstrated a spectacular failure to provide dependable electricity to our people.
We further demand that the government must purposely source the expertise of those who have stabilized ESKOM before and those who know just what should be done. Relying on the lies and misinformation of the Minister of Electricity will not bring about energy stability.
We know as the EFF that despite the lies told in Parliament, there will not be an additional 4200 megawatts in the grid within the next 90 days and we will issue a statement in 90 days' time to remind South Africans that they are led by purveyors of lies and misinformation.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 2 June 2023
