No time for smiles: Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, South Africa's electricity minister, second left, during a visit to the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Lethabo coal-fired power station in Vereeniging, South Africa, on Thursday, March 23, 2023. (Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
So far, the minister for electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has had an interesting time at the helm of what may prove a poisoned chalice, given just how divided opinions are on the country’s electricity future — both in and outside the governing party.
The creation of his ministry came as a surprise to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet, and it added another level of bureaucracy to an already complex problem.
One of the strongest members of Ramaphosa’s cabinet, and the one most affected by the creation of the ministry, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, derided him as a mere “project manager”, only to double back by calling him a capable human and someone he was keen to work with. Just how they will work together remains a mystery with reporting lines blurred. Is he a junior minister to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan — under whom Eskom falls — and Mantashe’s minerals and energy department?
As it stands, we have no idea if Ramokgopa has a properly functioning office. His spokesperson, Nombulelo Nyathela, confirmed he is working with a skeleton staff. It doesn’t look like he is able to fix Eskom or reduce load-shedding, as he has been tasked to do. He did however end load-shedding for a day but whether it was coincidental because of the Economic Freedom Fighters’ attempt at a national shutdown, we may never know. We are now back to stage six load-shedding.
Then we have the electricity minister saying he plans to extend the life of Eskom’s ageing power plants by 20 years.
Speaking about his visits to the power stations Ramokgopa last week said “… ageing power stations need investment to refurbish them to improve their performance and prolong their lifespans. This will require investment by the fiscus and/or the private sector.”
He stressed that difficult decisions would need to be made going into winter and the future. These included refurbishing the coal-fired power stations to stabilise the grid.
To do this would go against plans already in motion to pursue sustainable energy and move away from coal. It could jeopardise the just transition money promised by partner groups.
Ramokgopa has said some generation projects are producing “stranded electrons”, which the country can’t benefit from because the electricity grid does not have the capacity. He was talking about renewable energy projects.
It’s less than two months since the electricity minister was introduced into what is a bloated cabinet, so we should give Ramokgopa some grace as he builds up capacity in the department.
Until he settles into this job, and has a coherent plan of action, we will need to brace for a dark winter as he has warned.