President Cyril Ramaphosa said in this week’s letter to the nation that the only way to end load-shedding is if it is done together. Using the Sowetan newspaper’s front page as a starting point, which carried stories about various businesses that had to close down due to load-shedding, the number one citizen of the nation said that the closure of these businesses shows the devastating impact of persistent load-shedding on people’s livelihoods.
“As load-shedding continues to wreak havoc on businesses, households, and communities, the last thing South Africans want to hear is excuses or unrealistic promises. The demands for an immediate end to power cuts are wholly understandable. Everyone is fed up.”
The president further said that Eskom is not entirely to blame for the country’s energy crisis because it is a culmination of factors that contributed to the crisis. Recalling all the factors for the current situation is required in order to solve the problem rather than the symptoms.
“A lack of investment in new generating capacity, poor power plant maintenance, corruption and criminality, sabotage of infrastructure, rising municipal debt, and a lack of suitable skills at Eskom have all created a perfect storm. There can be no sustainable solution without addressing all these factors in combination,” the president said.
Over the last few days, the President has been in discussions with various stakeholders to address the national outcry. Ramaphosa said in those meetings he emphasised the importance of “staying the course instead of coming up with unsustainable short-term solutions.”
“We must be realistic about our challenges and about what it is going to take to fix them. While we all desperately want to, we cannot end load-shedding overnight,” he said.
“While we cannot end load-shedding immediately, what is certain is that if we work together with urgency to implement the Energy Action Plan, load-shedding will steadily become less and less severe. Through collective action, we will much sooner reach the point where we have enough power to end load-shedding altogether.”
To read the full message from the President, visit: https://www.gov.za/blog/there-only-one-way-end-load-shedding-together
Compiled by Gypseenia Lion
