Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa
Newly appointed Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has backed Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s view that coal will remain at the base of South Africa’s energy supply.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, Ramokgopa said there was no possibility of discounting coal, nuclear and gas as the country’s energy base load.
Ramokgopa, who President Cyril Ramaphosa recently made responsible for the execution of the government’s energy action plan, said it could not be separated from the Integrated Resource Plan.
“It is still envisaged that coal will be about 44% of the load, if I’m not mistaken. So, you can see that it’s a considerable amount of the energy mix. I think the gas (is) about 15% …
“The point I’m making … is the base load is key for the stabilisation of the network of the grid,” he said.
With coal and renewable energy working together, there was the potential to stabilise the grid.
This week, Mantashe defended the country’s use of coal at the Energy Indaba in Cape Town, telling delegates the commodity would outlive “us”. Mantashe has been heavily criticised by opposition parties and environmentalists for his views on coal and was also at loggerheads with former Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter, who advocated increased reliance on renewable energy.
“Coal is not about to disappear, gas is not about to go, nuclear is part of the future. Of course, the share of renewables is growing exponentially compared to other energy sources for obvious reasons but we are keen to ensure we have the minimum available electricity at any given time as required in the country,” Ramokgopa told the M&G.
The comments could indicate that the new minister will side with Mantashe in the cold war brewing over the energy sector.
Mantashe was expected to take over the role of shareholder at Eskom after the governing ANC’s December elective conference, which resolved state-owned entities in Pravin Gordhan’s public enterprises department should be moved to their line ministries.
Gordhan’s unpopularity in the ANC has grown in the past three years, with some party leaders blaming him for Eskom’s failure to confront the electricity crisis.
De Ruyter, who some in the ANC said was protected by Gordhan, resigned in December. This was after Mantashe launched a scathing attack on the power utility, accusing people there of actively agitating for the overthrow of the state.
In a recent tell-all interview with eNCA, De Ruyter shot back, claiming the ANC was using Eskom as a “feeding trough”. Soon after, Eskom said De Ruyter was leaving immediately, before the end of his notice period, and appointed chief financial officer Calib Cassim as interim CEO.
Addressing the vacuum caused by De Ruyter’s departure, Ramokgopa told the M&G while he would not interfere with the board’s process of hiring a new CEO, it needed to be done “yesterday”. He said the board was a group of competent men and women who had done “exceptionally well for themselves”.
“Remember we shouldn’t blur the line on governance. So, the accounting authority for Eskom still remains the board of Eskom, led by Mpho Makwana — that relationship must be respected. Then, of course, there’s the management team and we are expecting that we should have an accounting officer. The confirmation of the accounting officer is significant to the stabilisation of the management team.”
Ramokgopa said his first engagement was with the Eskom board about the timeline for the appointment of a new chief executive. “And in the course of doing that, just to impress upon them the need for us to be able to fill that and, of course, getting indication what their time lines are, and, of course, if I’m not happy with those timelines, I’ll express that,” he said.
Shortly after last month’s State of the Nation address, where Ramaphosa announced he would add a ministry of electricity to his cabinet, his allies, including Mantashe and ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, led the charge to dispel criticism over the president’s handling of the energy crisis.
Some thought Mantashe and Mbalula diminished the new role by calling the soon-to-be minister a “project manager”. Reacting to this, Ramokgopa — known in ANC circles as a technocrat — said he would approach his new job like a portfolio manager with executive powers.
A false narrative had been created in the media about the cost of a new ministry, he added.
“If it takes R38 million to solve the economy or the cost of unsafe energy, which is computed to be R500 billion, so be it. If it takes R38 million to save the jobs of small and medium-scale businesses that have suffered at the hands of load-shedding, so be it.”
Promising to address the supply and demand of energy, Ramokgopa said he planned to get his hands dirty: “For me it’s not a typical ministerial position. There shouldn’t be an obsession with whether this is a ministry. I am saying the obsession should be about our ability to solve the problem. You call me a project manager, a portfolio manager, a minister — I’m really not there.
“All I know is I enjoy legislative powers but I must get things done. So, I’m not going to enter into false conversations. It’s about fixing this problem and that’s what we’re doing. So, I could be anything, it really doesn’t matter to me. All I know is in the Constitution, there are powers that are assigned to the minister as the president has determined.
“My approach is to be at ground zero. We are not going to solve load-shedding by sitting in a boardroom wearing a tie every day. You go to plants and engage with the stakeholders at their places of choice and convenience.”
Critics have accused Ramaphosa of failing to act with authority against clashing ministers Gordhan and Mantashe, instead opting to introduce a third ANC leader to take on the two. In the past, Gordhan has been accused of interfering at Eskom while Mantashe has been accused of dragging his feet in the debate around procuring additional energy.
The two ministers — who are considered Ramaphosa’s most powerful allies — will be interacting with Ramokgopa as he executes the government’s energy action plan.
The new minister said he had already held meetings with the two cabinet heavyweights, who had promised to assist him.
“They’ve given me their unwavering support. We have agreed that this is in their view, what they think should be the issues to be attended to, which is not different from what I’ve shared with you,” he said.
Ramokgopa said he expected there would be differences of opinions on how issues would be resolved but added: “We’ll cross the bridge when we get there. But, where I am, full support, unwavering. They have shared that with me. That is why I am confident about our ability to address the problem.”
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