Electricity ministry needed an energy engineer, not another bureaucrat

“You don’t need a brain surgeon to run a hospital,” has been a popular refrain heard in recent weeks, when discussing the attributes needed by the head of the country’s newly-created electricity ministry.

And Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho ‘Sputla’ Ramokgopa might possess revered qualifications, which include a PhD, but the new portfolio may actually have benefitted from the skills of a senior engineer experienced in high voltage power, said governance experts.

Ramokgopa was head of infrastructure projects before President Cyril Ramaphosa moved him to the new position created to fight the country’s power crisis.

Energy expertise worth more than random qualifications

Analyst Sandile Swana said the new ministry doesn’t need another general public servant at the helm.

“The position needed an energy specialist, even a senior engineer who has worked successfully with high voltage power systems. We do not need a highly qualified person in arbitrary disciplines not connected to running successful power utilities.”

Ramokgopa also holds a BSc in Civil Engineering (University of Durban-Westville) and two master’s degrees in public administration, along with one in business leadership from the University of Pretoria (UP) and Unisa respectively.

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He also has a Certificate in Executive Development from Stellenbosch University and a PhD in Public Affairs from UP.

North West University (NWU) public governance Professor Tshombe Lukamba said although Ramokgopa is highly qualified, experience in power generation would have been a good boost for him.

He added that he should be given at least 100 days to understand what needs to be done to curb power utility Eskom’s power cuts.

“The electricity sector in South Africa is now very challenging because of load shedding. He is qualified but everyone is waiting to see if he will practically reduce load shedding.

“Let’s see how he fares, but that job needed an electrical engineer with experience in electricity generation and supply,” Lukamba said.

Ramokgopa ‘must get down to business’ ASAP

Swana said the new minister has to urgently organise his office and recruit untainted staff if he wants to haul the country out of the energy crisis.

At Eskom, Ramokgopa needs to establish a credible project management system for Medupi and Kusile power stations, which must later be rolled out at the power utility as a whole.

“He must get down to business and establish a supply chain and procurement process without intermediaries or middlemen.

“He also needs to deal directly with OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] for competitive prices and delivery times and work with the national chief procurement officer at National Treasury to eliminate non-value-adding procurement.”

The just energy transition project gives him the opportunity to allow full-blown private sector participation, Swana said.

“Ramokgopa must create room for public-private partnerships across all power generation technologies for Eskom and other state-owned companies, including those who may supply fuels competitively. Private sector participation across all technologies must be freed up.

“However, the first relief from load shedding will start only in 24 months because of the overhauling and refurbishing of all Eskom’s power stations.

“A power plant is shut down for a few months for refurbishment to be completed, so if correctly done, things will get worse before they get better.”

Said Lukamba: “Firstly, he needs to sit down with Eskom management and the public enterprises ministry, for them to all be on the same page and find a way forward.

“He needs a practical plan on the table to decide what’s next. If there’s no capacity to generate power, we will still be stuck with load shedding for a long time, because Eskom is about power generation and nothing else.”

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