President Cyril Ramaphosa Calls for Eskom to Stop “Targeting” Townships With Prolonged Loadshedding

• President Cyril Ramaphosa wants Eskom to stop implementing longer hours of loadshedding in townships
• He wants Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to end the prolonged "targeted" loadshedding
• The power utility also began implementing load reduction, leaving residents with no electricity for hours

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa wants Eskom to stop “targeting” townships with longer hours of loadshedding.

He made the remarking while speaking at the African National Congress national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, 4 June.

Ramaphosa said he wants Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to end the prolonged loadshedding. TimesLIVE reported that he said it is about targeting areas where most people live for cut-offs, which should not be happening.

The president said there could not be a situation where people or sections of Soweto, Mdantsane or anywhere else are targeted and become a weak link where loadshedding can easily affect.

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ANC NEC calls for Eskom to be declared a state of emergency, says the rolling blackouts are a crisis

The power utility also began implementing load reduction earlier this year, leaving residents with no electricity for hours at a time. Soweto residents told IOL that the power cuts are implemented in “black townships” such as Braam Fischerville, Dobsonville, Mapetla, Dlamini and Diepkloof.

However, Eskom Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshansha told the publication that Eskom was forced to resort to load reduction to protect the equipment from failure due to network overloading.

He said overloading causes damage to equipment that could lead to explosions of transformers and other equipment, placing both members of the public and property at risk. Mantshansha said at times, this has even led to fatalities.

South Africans react to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s intervention into prolonged loadshedding in townships:

@fusi_sekonyela said:

“We don’t want loadshedding at all, but we all know it’s going to be worse in a few years to come. Accountability plus illegal connections with corruption is going to make it worse.”

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Stage 6 loadshedding leaves some South Africans jobless and impacts country's economic development

@chrisfvz posted:

“And so, the electioneering rhetoric begins for 2024.”

@CoetzeeStefan wrote:

“Why only there? But... Where I live, I look out over Mamelodi. It never sheds a minute of power. Never ever... So, Mr Prez, it is happening! Well, at least here.”

@southy_citizen added:

“ANC electioneering has started.”

ANC NEC calls for Eskom to be declared a state of emergency, says the rolling blackouts are a crisis

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan presented a report on the state of Eskom’s power grid at the African National Congress’ national executive committee (NEC) meeting. The meeting’s attendees made calls to move Eskom from the Department of Public Enterprises to the Department of Energy.

There is agreement that the energy shortage and constant rolling blackouts in the country are a crisis. A source who attended the meeting spoke to News24 and said calls were made by ANC leaders on how the government should respond to the crisis.

Source: Briefly News