Ramokgopa will NOT solve the electricity crisis

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen does not believe the newly elected Minister of Electricity has the capabilities to reduce loadshedding.

DA LEADER REFLECTS ON THE CABINET RESHUFFLE

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his new members to his cabinet following a cabinet reshuffle on the evening of 6 March.

DA leader reflected on the announcement by saying President Ramaphosa’s announcement of changes to his national cabinet is less a reshuffle and more a gratuitous bloating.

“The Minister of Electricity and of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, will add an additional R74 million to the public wage bill,” he said.

He added, “It is simply unfathomable that the President can push this cost onto the South African taxpayer while the nation languishes under sluggish economic growth, the highest unemployment rate in recent history, and an electricity crisis that is shedding jobs at record numbers”.

VIEWS ON THE MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY

Commenting on the newly appointed Minister of Electricity, Steenhuisen reminded the citizens about the Minister’s failures in local government.

“It is important to note that the new Minister of Electricity in the Presidency, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, nearly singlehandedly wiped out the City of Tshwane with a smart meter contract declared highly irregular by the Auditor General when he was the metro’s mayor,” the DA leader said.

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“If Cyril Ramaphosa thinks that Ramokgopa will solve the electricity crisis, then permanent blackouts are inevitable.”
“There was also no announcement of performance agreements, targets, or tangible outcomes and timelines for the above ministries, making it impossible to gauge whether or not either of these ministers performs,” the DA raised.

THE TERM ACCORDING TO CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

In his address, President Ramaphosa said the Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will remain in office only for as long as it is necessary to resolve the electricity crisis.

“South Africa has very little to look forward to under this reshuffled cabinet. The only way for a new, effective cabinet to come in and rid us of failure and incompetency, is for a cabinet to be appointed that is free of the ANC,” the DA leader Steenhuisen further reflected.

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