Open letter to Ramaphosa: We need solar energy to revive struggling economy

Comrade president, no country can come out of the economic ravages we have experienced – not only as a result of the Covid pandemic, but also as a result of poor economic planning and the corruption that seems to be embedded in the entire governance of our country – without having a long- term economic plan.

I have many suggestions to make to you that will assist us to get out of this deep hole, but, I wish to suggest just one for now.

SA’s energy crisis

You see, Comrade president, the Eskom problems are going to be with us for a very long time.

This is so because we are not able to think out of the box and government thinks not about developing the country, but about pleasing its alliance partners.

ALSO READ: Parties slam Eskom’s ‘permanent’ load shedding plan for next 2 years

The government has spent more than 15 years discussing solar energy and to this day we have no definite solution, despite the fact that Eskom is incapable of supplying the required levels of power to the country.

Comrade president, I am talking to you as a technician and someone who has run my own manufacturing business for a long time and therefore, I am going to talk to you from a very practical and experienced point of view.

Energy supply from Eskom

For starters, there is no need for households to depend entirely on energy supply from Eskom. There is no need for traffic and street lights to depend on Eskom entirely either.

We do know that an average home can do with less than 5KVA of power, and when you look at middle- to lower-income families, for most, it’s even lower than 3.5KVA.

This means that, with the gift of the sun we are endowed with, particularly in Limpopo where I live, it is possible to power our homes with less than 20% Eskom power.

Economic recovery

The biggest problem we have, therefore, Comrade president, is the lack of political will and the economy that is almost entirely extractive, insertive, and consumerist.

If we are talking about revitalisation of the economy, the manufacturing of solar systems is the way to go.

It is such a big economy, if only we can put our minds to it.

Just imagine for a minute that we have factories in all nine provinces producing inverters, batteries, and solar panels.

RELATED: Ramaphosa’s Necom releases update on plans to end load shedding

It will take years before we even think about exporting our products, let alone coping with our domestic demands.

We will not even cope with the demands of our provincial segments.

We have to think of ourselves as a growing economy and break down these monolithic ideas of building an economy.

This approach will be sustainable because, every household will want to be less dependent on Eskom and Eskom, on the other hand, can serve big industries and businesses without the threat of load shedding.

Just imagine the number of jobs that can be created; the relief off the Eskom grid; the peace of mind.

Of course, how people finally have access to solar energy, is for government and the private sector to decide. It could be by way of long-term loans and subsidies for the indigent.

We can proud again.

Monama is a former Azapo leader and an independent commentator.

NOW READ: Eskom to celebrate 100 years of supplying SA with electricity as load shedding worsens