Energy crisis: Charged up Sputla now has no excuse to not perform

It seems Electricity Minister Kgosientsho “Sputla” Ramokgopa will no longer be labelled a “project manager” or a “junior minister” after President Cyril Ramaphosa gave him more powers to deal with the energy crisis.

This follows a brewing feud between Ramokgopa, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan over who should get the spotlight in ending load shedding.

On Friday, Ramaphosa took it upon himself to clarify the roles of these three ministers. Although Ramaphosa gave clarity on who does what, Mantashe must be feeling betrayed.

Not only did Mantashe campaign to be re-elected ANC national chair at their national elective conference in December, he also defended Ramaphosa on his Phala Phala farm scandal and made sure he gets a second term as ANC president.

Energy powers

Instead of Ramaphosa rewarding Mantashe, he appointed Ramokgopa as electricity minister and has now stripped Mantashe of his energy powers.

Now, the minister of electricity, through the proclamation by the president, has been entrusted with certain powers that relate to the Electricity Regulation Act, which were previously entrusted to the energy minister.

These powers and functions include the minister issuing a determination that new generation capacity is needed to ensure security of energy supply.

This comprises of the amount of new capacity that must be procured; the type of capacity (wind or solar PV); and the manner in which it must be procured.

On its own, these very same powers give Ramokgopa more clout to effectively deal with this energy crisis at hand, while on the other hand, diminish Mantashe’s heavyweight status.

What Mantashe is now responsible for is to be in charge of the procurement process of new generation capacity, which is carried out by the independent power producer (IPP) office. ;

READ MORE: Nothing to see here: Ramokgopa offers same list of load shedding ‘solutions’

Initiatives

The office remains responsible for implementing various initiatives outlined in the energy action plan.

Then to matters relating to the energy policy in general, such as long-term energy planning, regulation, fuel price determination, petroleum and gas policy, pipelines and licensing thereof, will remain with the minister of mineral resources and energy.

This provides Mantashe with a powerful tool to address the energy shortfall by directing the actions that are required to build new generation capacity.

At some point, both ministers’ responsibilities are not completely different and cooperation between the two still needs to exist if we are to see a coordinated effort to rid the country of load shedding.

The only difference is that Ramokgopa now has no excuse not to perform. He’s been given powers that warrant him more operational access to the territory of Eskom. And now there’s a sense of desperation to see him excel at all costs.

But all in all, this just proves one thing: Ramaphosa’s creation of the electricity minister portfolio is unnecessary.

He should have given Mantashe a new department to head and grant Ramokgopa the energy department. For at this moment, it is clear Mantashe was a target because he doesn’t toe the line when it comes to Ramaphosa’s plan on energy.

The president should have just left the energy department to deal with the electricity crisis, because it raises a lot of questions on what will happen to the powers of the electricity minister once load shedding is over.

Will those powers go back to the energy department again? And as for Gordhan, he is only responsible for the Eskom Conversion Act.

As a minister, he is a shareholder in the utility and his duties include appointing the Eskom board, and overseeing its restructuring into three separate entities for generation, transmission and distribution.

This clearly signals that the department will cease to exist, probably in the 2024 Cabinet. Ramaphosa could’ve avoided this circus.

Maybe he is scared to confront Mantashe and tell him he is a hindrance to his plans.

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