President Cyril Ramaphosa Addresses Loadshedding, Mzansi Says There Is No Accountability for Blackouts

• President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed loadshedding in his weekly newsletter published on Tuesday, 20 September
• Ramaphosa said the power cuts are a reminder that the state-owned power stations are old and unstable
• However, a senior researcher at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study believes that Eskom fails to be accountable

JOHANNESBURG - As Eskom continues to ramp up loadshedding to stage five, the country has seemingly grown tired of the same promises from President Cyril Ramaphosa. The nation’s leader addressed the power cuts in his weekly newsletter published on Tuesday, 20 September.

Ramaphosa said loadshedding being imposed on citizens is a reminder that the state-owned power stations are old and unstable.

He said solving the electricity crisis is necessary for the economy. According to BusinessTech, the president has been promising to end loadshedding since 2015.

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Earlier this year, Ramaphosa blamed the rolling blackouts on internal sabotage. He told citizens that Eskom and unions were working together to deal with theft, fraud and sabotage at the power utility.

Senior Researcher at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study Dr Sean Muller told SABC News that Eskom continuously shifts the blame and fails to be accountable for loadshedding. He said the management and board of Eskom continue to make excuses often without evidence.

Muller said management is not held accountable since they are allowed to make excuses. He believes that there isn’t any definitive evidence of sabotage in the power utility.

“Eskom was on a downwards trajectory prior to President Ramaphosa taking his position, prior to the Eskom board coming in and in that context, things will get worse before they get better.

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“Nevertheless, there needs to be some kind of tangible sense on what we can hold these individuals accountable for. They can’t be allowed to keep making excuses,” he said.

South Africans angered by loadshedding:

@tndaba said:

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has been promising and promising with no results.”

@Don_RRS commented:

“This is what Ramaphosa said in 2015: In 18 months’ time, Loadshedding will be a thing of the past.”

@SiyabongaMncu20 added:

“How many times Ramaphosa held meetings about Eskom? We know that in their homes there’s no loadshedding.”

Eskom wants to hike tariffs by 32% to solve its debt problem, says CFO – Mzansi outraged by proposal

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim painted a grim picture of the power utility’s debt.

He was speaking at the first hearing of Eskom’s tariff proposal to the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) on Monday, 19 September.

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Cassim said that even if Eskom’s debt of R400 billion is relieved, it would still need to increase tariffs, cut costs, and get users to pay their bills, or it will be struggling.

Source: Briefly News