Govt departments sometimes use load shedding as an excuse – experts

The government is doing little to keep its citizens – and even its departments – switched on and there is nothing anyone could do about it, according to experts.

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha yesterday announced stage 4 load shedding until the weekend, due to a shortage of generation capacity and unplanned maintenance – a move that saw the department of home affairs grind to a halt.

ID and passport services were suspended at its back office on Monday due to a power failure. The office is instrumental in clearing applications for smart IDs and passports.

Minister of Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza yesterday confirmed the power had been restored, but the office’s generator and four uninterrupted power supply units were affected.

ALSO READ: Smart ID and passport services restored at Home Affairs after power outage at Pretoria office

But energy expert Chris Yelland said it was not possible to blame load shedding for damage to a standby generator.

“The whole purpose of that generator is to come on when the mains fail and to operate while the mains fail,” he said.

Yelland said such systems were specifically designed for this and should not fail when the power goes on and off.

“The very reason for its existence is to operate when the power goes off and switch off when the power goes back on,” he said.

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage said this kind of issue was the hidden costs related to the unintended consequences of load shedding.

“It is frustrating, especially for businesses and households who can’t afford the costs of such repairs.

“Government services also can’t escape the issue, but we hope they will move fast to fix the problems as and when they occur.”

Duvenage said he believed government departments sometimes used load shedding as an excuse.

“There is no need for a generator to be damaged with load shedding if the government departments have installed surge protection equipment. They need to become more proactive in this regard, conducting proper maintenance, which they so often don’t do,” he said.

Government ‘corrupt and incompetent’

Economist Dawie Roodt said South Africans could do everything themselves in South Africa – except the service the department of home affairs offered.

“You can get electricity; rework sewage; get security; find schools – all things that you don’t need the government for, but you need them for IDs, passports, firearm licences, driving licences and birth and marriage certificates,” he said.

Roodt claimed the government wasn’t even trying to stop the rolling blackouts because it was “corrupt and incompetent”.

“Unfortunately, for those small parts that we do depend on the government for, there is no competition and they are empowered,” he said.

Roodt said the government took a lot out of the economy and contributed little towards growing it. Political analyst Piet Croucamp said South Africans could complain all they want, but there was nothing anybody could do about it.

ALSO READ: Eskom piles on the misery as stage 4 load shedding to continue

“We can only whine about what’s happening: generators breaking down; power stations exploding; TVs and fridges blowing up because of power outages,” he said.

Croucamp said the country had to rather talk about additional capacity and energy.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za