Gordhan Declares Stage 6 Load-Shedding “Totally Unacceptable”, Ordering Eskom to End the Rolling Blackouts

• Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has demanded that Eskom put an end to stage 6 rolling blackouts
• Gordhan said the blackouts were having devastating effects on households and the economy declaring that the high stage of load-shedding was unacceptable
• Gordhan also insinuated that the continuous breakdowns at Eskom were a result of sabotage

JOHANNESBURG - As the second day of Stage 6 load-shedding came to a close, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan ordered South Africa's power utility, Eskom to put an end to the incessant rolling blackouts.

The embattled utility announced stage 6 load-shedding on Wednesday, 7 December and indicated that the blackout would continue well into Friday, 9 November.

Gordhan said that the increased stage of load-shedding was having devastating consequences on households, livelihoods, investments and the economy.

The minister declared:

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"This is totally unacceptable."

Eskom announced that the high stage of load-shedding can be attributed to breakdowns of the generating units at six power stations this week. The public enterprises minister said the breakdowns were due to malfunctioning within the power utility but also insinuated the sabotage could be playing a role, TimesLIVE reported.

According to Business Tech, the power utility has been subject to several high-profile cases of theft and sabotage. Several arrests have been made, including a truck driver and supervisor who delivered substandard coal to Matla power station last week.

In a separate incident that same week two subcontracted security guards were arrested for stealing 5 863 litres of diesel, worth R145 930 from East London.

South Africans react to Gordhan's calls for an end to stage 6 load-shedding

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South Africans doubt that solving load-shedding is as easy as simply ordering Eskom to put an end to it.

Below are some comments:

@AfricaInsights asked:

"Is this a joke? Passing the buck or smokescreen because he #PravinGordhan @DPE_ZA senses the nation is restless and civil unrest brewing?"

@BrianDWootton1 said:

"Dear Santa - please give the management and Board of Eskom a magical wand so they can make new power stations appear and theft disappears."

@soodian1902 exclaimed:

"ORDERED!? What nonsense we have to put in SA. The people should REVOLT for the scrapping of the current president and ministers."

@DodiLuxolo questioned:

"So do we really have a power problem.. if a minister can just "order" Eskom to get the country out of stage 6?"

@VuslatBayoglu commented:

"I doubt ESKOM’s board and management know what to do. I would have loved to ask a few questions to Andre De Ruyter to find out if he learnt how renewables will (won’t) eliminate the load shedding in SA’s current energy system."

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South Africans react as Eskom predicts load-shedding will continue until 2027: “Keep on defending Ramaphosa”

Earlier, Briefly News reported that Mzansi is not happy with President Cyril Ramaphosa's government after Eskom reportedly predicted that load-shedding will continue until 2027.

The Mail & Guardian reports that the power utility's troubles will not be resolved in the near future. The publication posted on Facebook that Eskom shared that the power outages will likely continue for the next five years.

Fuming South Africans took to the outlet's comment section and blamed Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly claiming earlier this year that his government streamlined measures to deal with the crisis.

Source: Briefly News