DA Demands Transparency in State of Disaster ANC Plans to Declare on Energy Crisis, Other Parties Weigh In

• Political parties are pleased that the African National Congress has finally come to the table and plans to declare a national state of disaster over SA’s energy crisis
• The Democratic Alliance wants transparency and oversight to be set in place so that a looting frenzy can be prevented
• ActionSA and the Freedom Front Plus seconded the DA’s demands, citing worries that the ANC will use the state of disaster for self-enrichment

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s opposition parties have reacted to the African National Congress’ decision to finally declare the country’s energy crisis a national state of disaster.

The most vocal out of all the parties was the Democratic Alliance (DA). The main opposition party first took to Twitter to take responsibility for “pushing” the ruling party into making the decision.

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The DA tweeted:

“Today, the ANC was finally left with no choice but to accede to the DA’s demand to declare Eskom an ANC-made disaster zone.”

Besides centralising the State of Disaster around Eskom, the opposition party had some particular demands.

DA MP Kevin Mileham said that to prevent what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent national state of disaster, complete transparency and parliamentary oversight will be needed to stop another looting frenzy, TimesLIVE reported.

The Freedom Front plus backed the DA's calls, with the party’s leader Pieter Groenewald saying the state of disaster requires clear rules to avoid a repetition of PPE corruption.

ActionSA’s National Spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni added her party’s voice to the discussion. Ngobeni commended the ANC for “taking the crisis seriously” but added ActionSA doesn’t trust the ANC not to use the situation for self-enrichment.

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South Africans reacted to political parties’ worries about the energy crisis state of disaster

South Africans echoed the worries of the opposition parties, claiming the move will spell disaster for the country.

@Meyer_Michael2 asked:

“We saw what happened during Covid 19. How many become millionaires overnight because there was no oversight done during the time?"

@Bucksido1 claimed:

“We're better off pushing through the ordeal than implementing a state of disaster. Many businesses fell because of it.”

@kleineboerin added:

“This would only assist in more looting.”

@johnjayharris speculated:

“Be careful what you wish for. What will this actually achieve? Fast track power ships for Mantashe? Pushing out the 2024 elections? Watch this space.”

@theraymanuk said:

“To be honest, I'm shaking my head here, you can't do this, it's not going to work.”

South Africans slam ANC’s decision to declare Eskom a state of disaster: “About 6 months too late”

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the African National Congress has resolved to take the country's energy crisis seriously.

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South Africans unconvinced that the ANC's plan to declare Eskom a state of disaster will work

During an ANC NEC lekgotla on Monday, 30 January, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that declaring Mzansi's energy crisis a state of disaster is on the cards.

According to TimesLIVE, the president stated that preparations such as legal requirements are underway for the declaration to be made.

Source: Briefly News