ANC’s burden alone: President should stop behaving as if he is running a coalition government

While President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired back to back meetings this week to deal with the power crisis, it seemed he has little faith in the newly elected ANC national executive committee (NEC).

Even though stabilising Eskom and providing reliable electricity formed part of the ANC’s election manifesto in 2021, the president is yet to initiate a meeting with the NEC to bring the power crisis under control.

All ideas exhausted

But he has convened meetings with other political parties, making one wonder if the governing party has exhausted all its ideas to save the ailing power utility.

This drastic action by Ramaphosa also makes one wonder if this is a strategy to shift responsibility from himself, government and the ANC to share the failures of Eskom with other political parties.

But even if that’s the case, the president should stop behaving as if he is running a coalition government. It is high time he engages the ANC NEC on this matter.

Focus should be load shedding

The ANC ought to dedicate days, if not weeks, to exclusively discussing the load shedding that is making the country chaotic. Instead of discussing the step-aside rule and Phala Phala theft scandal, which the previous NEC dismally failed to address, the new NEC must prove it means business and is solely interested in the issues that affect the lives of South Africans.

NOW READ: Remains to be seen if ANC will apply the step-aside rule to everyone

Otherwise the party is not fit to govern. It is likely the meetings will be all talk and not yield anything concrete.

This is in light of the fact that these political parties are in coalitions in metros and yet they fail to address basic service delivery issues.

DA experiencing challenges

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is experiencing challenges in running Joburg and Tshwane. The City of Joburg is in a mess and Tshwane is under fire because of an audit report that reeks of incompetence from the DA.

Yet all they do is to blame the ANC for the DA’s alleged corruption over municipal finances. How then does the ANC expect such a party to devise solutions for Eskom, when they fail to clean up where they govern and take accountability?

Eskom owed over R50 billion

Since municipalities owe Eskom over R50 billion, the DA would do well to focus on how they will settle Eskom debts in the municipalities they run.

Within the metros, the DA led coalitions seem not to be bothered about potholes, dysfunctional streetlights, waste collection, sewage and decaying infrastructure.

This shows they have a lot on their plate and the president should not complicate their responsibilities by adding something that is beyond them.

These political parties that Ramaphosa wants to engage with are interested in nothing but being populistic.

That’s why the DA will march to the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House – instead of the Union Buildings or Eskom’s Megawatt Park – next Wednesday, knowing this may spark violent clashes.

‘Political points’

The Economic Freedom Fighters and ActionSA are no different as they also score political points. The legal action to force Eskom and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to end load shedding smacks of political opportunism.

By backing the move, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa, Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane and the Inkatha Freedom Party are trying to be relevant.

The ANC must stop acting as if it’s not governing the country and take full responsibility for addressing load shedding.

The ANC should just meet the board of Eskom alone, address Eskom’s debt, provide capital for maintenance of power stations and appoint a new chief executive.

Nothing more, nothing less. South Africans are tired of meetings without actions. The ANC must be warned not to solve Eskom’s problems based on the coming 2024 elections, they should look beyond that and support long-lasting solutions for the power utility.

Cheap ways of gaining votes should not be the concern of the ANC. Its concern should be a pupil who can’t study, a small business that can’t survive and a breadwinner who has lost his or her job because of load shedding.

NOW READ: Municipalities and government departments owe Eskom more than R50 billion