Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has called for the ‘immediate declaration of a ring-fenced State of Disaster around Eskom and our electricity supply’. Steenhuisen proposes the appointment of an outside industry expert South Africans are struggling under Stage 5 load shedding but power utility Eskom says there is a possibility of reducing a further…
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has called for the ‘immediate declaration of a ring-fenced State of Disaster around Eskom and our electricity supply’.
Steenhuisen proposes the appointment of an outside industry expert
South Africans are struggling under Stage 5 load shedding but power utility Eskom says there is a possibility of reducing a further stage before then. Steenhuisen has proposed that President Cyril Ramaphosa immediately dissolve the National Energy Crisis.
He added that an outside industry expert should be appointed in its place to oversee the implementation of the Energy Response Plan. Steenhuisen believes that if an outside expert is appointed, their first task must be to set out clear targets and timelines.
He says the expert would have to facilitate a working relationship between Eskom, Independent Power Producers and local governments.
The DA calls for Mantashe to be sacked
The opposition also called for Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe to be fired.
“It is incomprehensible that he has managed to remain in this crucial position despite his multiple failures,” said Steenhuisen.
The DA leader stated that Mantashe is responsible for the ‘dysfunctional regulatory framework’ that has prevented SA’s energy sector from recovering. Steenhuisen also spoke about the establishment of an ad-hoc committee on the energy crisis.
“Parliament cannot be a spectator at a time like this. We need to give it back its teeth and allow it to play the oversight role envisaged by the authors of our Constitution,” he said.
South Africans are in the dark once more as the country was plunged into Stage 5 load shedding. Photo: @Eskom_SA / Twitter
The latest load shedding forecast for the next few days
Meanwhile, it was reported that in the latest forecast of load shedding, the blackouts will continue to remain at Stage 5 power cuts. But this could change by Thursday, Eskom said.
The ongoing load shedding will continue to be implemented at Stage 5. But there is a possibility of reducing that by one stage on Thursday, Eskom said.
The power utility announced on Sunday that the country should expect to remain at high stages of load shedding. This is due to numerous breakdowns of the generation units since last Monday. Then, the country entered into Stage 3 load shedding, with levels gearing up over the week.
