SA Youth Economic Council Backs Plan to Move Department of Mineral Resources & Energy

• The South African Youth Economic Council welcomed the decision to move Eskom to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
• The council celebrated the proposed move despite energy minister Gwede Mantashe receiving widespread backlash from energy experts
• Spokesperson Sthandiwe Msomi said the resolution acknowledged the importance of cutting down on unnecessary government expenditure

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Youth Economic Council has expressed delight over the proposal to move Eskom to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

The state-owned power utility fell under the Department of Public Enterprises. However, the African National Congress (ANC) decided it would be more fitting for SOEs to be moved to their line departments.

The council celebrated the proposed move despite energy minister Gwede Mantashe receiving widespread backlash from energy experts. It described the proposal as long overdue and one that will enhance transparency and accountability while cutting out bureaucracy.

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Council spokesperson Sthandiwe Msomi told TimesLIVE that the resolution acknowledged the importance of cutting down on unnecessary government expenditure which will lead to a reduced cabinet. She also rubbished claims that labelled Mantashe as an “incompetent fossil fuel fundamentalist”.

Msomi said the priority of South Africans should be on the science and mitigating factors for achieving energy security. She also said that coal, gas, nuclear power and renewable energy sources should all be used as components of the country’s energy grid.

Mzansi unimpressed by proposal to move Eskom

@ZozoHlumile said:

“To what benefit? All ministerial portfolios are looting campaigns, taking from the right pocket and putting in the left pocket will add what benefit for the public?”

@jo97243785 commented:

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“Mantashe has called up the forces of the ANC Nursery School to defend him.”

@FrancisDavidDu4 posted:

“More looting is imminent.”

@XolaniNtsangan1 wrote:

“What difference will it make when all ANC deployees are useless like this maar?”

@AurigenZA added:

“Is this group also fighting for economic freedom?”

Mantashe should go

Meanwhile, Professor in the Graduate School of Technology Management in the University of Pretoria’s engineering faculty David Walwyn also supported the move but believes Mantashe should be removed from his position. He told the Mail & Guardian that the minister has contributed to discrediting the utility.

Walwyn said Eskom is trapped politically and economically. He added that Mantashe is the “biggest problem” for the SEO since he is delaying the procurement of new energy.

Outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter blames past leaders for power utility's troubles, leaving citizens annoyed

Briefly News also reported that outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter believes the power utility is “paying for the sins of the past” despite efforts to create stability.

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He said the issues at Eskom can be traced back to 1998. According to EWN, de Ruyter said power outages could have been avoided if Eskom had not refused to sign power purchase agreements with independent power producers in 2014.

At the time the government believed that the money should have been allocated to other sectors. De Ruyter said there was a deliberate decision to neglect the maintenance to prevent loadshedding by “borrowing” supply from the future.

Source: Briefly News