Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe Says Eskom Can Be Fixed in Next 6 to 12 Months, Mzansi Annoyed

• Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe shared his big plans to fix the country's energy crisis
• Mantashe said the rolling blackouts affecting the country can be resolved within the next six to 12 months
• His comments came as citizens battle Stage 6 loadshedding, leaving many social media users unimpressed

JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe believes the country’s energy crisis can be resolved within six to 12 months.

His remarks came as South Africans battle with Stage 6 loadshedding and the possibility of large tariff hikes being implemented. At the African National Congress 55th national conference, the party decided to have Mantashe’s department oversee Eskom.

The minister was interviewed by eNCA on Friday, 13 January and said that Eskom would have to do introspection to determine if it has the capacity to deal with the energy crisis. He said if the power utility lacked the resources, it should look for alternative sources of capacity.

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“The most urgent task that is facing us is to work with Eskom to optimise generation from existing capacity.

"In Eskom, we have 48 000MW connected to the grid but Eskom at best can give us 26 000MW. There's 22 000MW that is idling but connected, it is not decommissioned,” said Mantashe.

He said if there was a focus on maintaining the megawatts, the country would not be subjected to loadshedding. The minister added that he is a “big believer” that renewable energy would complement Eskom’s generation.

According to News24, Mantashe was highly critical of the power utility’s management. However, Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter resigned from his position.

Mzansi unimpressed with Mantashe’s comments

@ntwanix said:

“We'll check-in in July to ask how it's going.”

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@MyAleasha commented:

“Moving the goalposts again.”

@Mthobisi_Mboma posted:

“Joke of the year and it's just day 13 of 365.”

Ramaphosa’s deep regret about loadshedding leaves SA furious, “we deeply regret the ANC being in power”

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported that the Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has said that President Cyril Ramaphosa “deeply regrets” South Africa's electricity crisis.

Magwenya added that Ramaphosa has acknowledged how loadshedding has frustrated South Africans and the untold devastation it has had on small businesses and the nation's economy, News24 reported.

While it's not clear what the Presidency aimed to achieve by releasing this titbit of information, South Africans have not taken kindly to the president's regrets.

Source: Briefly News