Deputy President Mashatile applauds efforts to keep the lights on

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has applauded the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's leadership in striving to find solutions to power cuts and increasing energy availability. 'It is commendable that we have had four consecutive weeks without power interruptions. We equally commend the Eskom team as led by Mr Dan Morakane in this regard,' he said on Tuesday. Deputy President Mashatile made the comments this morning at a dialogue on the role of leadership in fostering economic growth. The session was hosted by the African United Business Confederation (AUBC) in Sandton. He emphasised that government will ensure that all power stations have the right leaders who will drive the appropriate discipline within those operations. 'While some think that this is an electioneering strategy, I want to reassure you that this reality is just evidence of improvements in the entity's operations.' Last week, Ramokgopa and Eskom leadership attributed the lack of load shedd ing for over 34 days to sustained available generation capacity and sufficient emergency reserves. Energy Action Plan Meanwhile, the Deputy President told delegates that government's strategy to improve Eskom's performance has been the implementation of a concerted and deliberate Energy Action Plan (EAP). The State, he stressed, remains committed to implementing the EAP's key interventions. These include fixing Eskom, improving the availability of existing supplies, enabling and accelerating private investment in generation capacity, and unleashing businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar energy. 'Furthermore, we are ensuring that all power stations have the right leaders who will drive the appropriate discipline within those operations.' The Deputy President welcomed the changes made over the past 18 months in Eskom's leadership, saying he believed that with the right skills, talent and experience, South Africa will soon achieve an energy-secure future. 'We are similarly committed to implementing all necessary steps to maintain the security of our infrastructure, as it is crucial to attaining long-term economic and social goals.' Infrastructure Investment Plan He reminded delegates that in 2020, Cabinet adopted the Infrastructure Investment Plan, which was a demonstration of government's commitment to infrastructure development. The plan includes projects from government, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the private sector in six sectors. These comprise energy, water and sanitation, transport, digital infrastructure, human settlements, as well as agriculture and agro-processing. 'We are certain that these ambitious projects will boost the economy and reduce unemployment.' Source: South African Government News Agency