Politics

ANC MPs Demand That Every Eskom Power Station Manager Account for All Breakdowns Which Lead to Loadshedding

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 9:10 PM by Lerato Mutsila

The ANC summoned the Eskom board to a parliamentary caucus that blurred the lines between party and government
The party's MPs demanded that Eskom station managers take accountability for the breakdowns that have caused loadshedding
The ANC also called for the power utility to solve the electricity crisis before the next national election

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CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress'(ANC) caucus in Parliament has demanded that every power station manager at Eskom must account for the breakdowns and poor management that have resulted in the loadshedding crisis.

ANC demand accountability from Eskom power manager — ANC MPs want Eskom station managers to account for loadshedding. Image: Darren Stewart & Waldo Swiegers
Source: Getty Images

ANC MPs allegedly participated in a virtual meeting on Monday night 16 January. In attendance were Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and the Eskom board who were berated with questions about the energy crisis.

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Gayton McKenzie singles Ramaphosa out for 16 years of empty promises about ending loadshedding, demands a plan

According to New24, sources refused to divulge what Mantashe and Gordhan said during the meeting but assured the publication that they told the Eskom board to pull up their socks and solve the never-ending problem.

The meeting between the ANC and Eskom's top bras has been criticised for blurring the lines between party and government. The caucus was allegedly used by particular ANC MPs to accuse the governing party of sabotage.

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ANC MP Matshidiso Mfajoe claimed the power utility's failure to resolve rolling blackouts was ruining the ruling party's relationship with voters ahead of the 2024 elections.

Another MP Mncedisi Nontsele said that Eskom had to implement a plan that would end loadshedding within the year or it will spell the end for the ANC, Mail & Guardian reported.

South Africans react to ANC's demands for Eskom

Citizens took to social media to call the ANC out for their hypocrisy.

Below are some comments:

@nt_cape predicted:

"Eskom power station managers will arrive with bulging brown paper bags. ANC will declare that there has never been a problem."

@leona_kleynhans speculated:

"I guess they have a list since it is the ANC who deployed them."

@lindsaymanthey commented:

"Now they are demanding. They must account first."

@RealSharonPeetz demanded:

"And we call on every MP to give up the generators that we pay for!"

@TheMan13797027 quipped:

"In other words their comrades."

@Anthony27836906 claimed:

"What a useless bunch! Supported or turned a blind eye."

Ex-ANC SG Ace Magashule slams NERSA for increasing electricity prices amid deepening loadshedding

In a related story, Briefly News reported the former secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC) Ace Magashule has taken aim at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).