President Cyril Ramaphosa Says Stage 8 Loadshedding Is Unlikely, Eskom Deals With Another Sabotage Case

Friday, May 20, 2022 at 6:36 PM by Bianca Lalbahadur

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Stage 8 loadshedding is unlikely to be implemented by Eskom despite it dealing with sabotage
Ramaphosa said the management at Eskom has the situation under control and are dealing with the issues swiftly
Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said a critical cable was cut and stolen by people who work within the power station

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JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa believes it is unlikely that Stage 8 loadshedding will be implemented despite Eskom dealing with another case of sabotage. Discussing the issues around the power utility, Ramaphosa said sabotage is a challenge that must be dealt with.

He said Eskom has been having a recurring problem with keeping the electricity on. Ramaphosa said the power utility is forced to deal with maintenances and breakages.

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President, Cyril Ramaphosa, Stage 8, load shedding, unlikely, Eskom, sabotage, Pravin Gordhan — President Cyril Ramaphosa says Stage 8 loadshedding is unlikely. Image: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg & Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
Source: Getty Images

The president said that Eskom’s management is doing everything possible to ensure the utility is maintained. He told eNCA that if there are breakdowns they are repaired swiftly. Ramaphosa said the government is still hopeful that Eskom’s management has the situation under control.

He added that if loadshedding had to be implemented the power utility to provide a warning in advance. Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan told Parliament during his budget vote speech that a cable at the Hendrina power station was cut.

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The cable was critical to the unit that was undergoing repairs. Gordhan said the cable was cut and stolen by people who work within the power station, Business Live reported. This follows another case of sabotage at Tutuka power station just days ago.

Mzansi reacts

Social media users were not buying President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comments and say they are preparing to deal with loadshedding:

@MaharajParesh said:

“That doesn’t make me feel any better if the President uses the phrase “unlikely to happen”. This means he also is not so confident about Eskom.”

@OnGroundGlass wrote:

“I guess I'd better get more petrol for my generator before it becomes unaffordable next month.”

Siphiwo Dandala posted:

“He is not sure as he keeps saying he does not think. So these people are fooling the whole president or are he on the game too. Something is not right here and if he is not part of it then intelligence must work.”

Tukz Tekza added:

“Once they say something is "unlikely" to happen. Then prepare yourself.”

Experts predict Stage 8 loadshedding, could leave SA without power for 48 hours over 4 days, Mzansi Upset

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported just when you thought the loadshedding schedule couldn’t frustrate you anymore, experts warn of the implementation of stage 8 power cuts could very well be upon us sooner rather than later.