Gwede Mantashe claims he’s under attack by foreign-funded campaign – report

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe says he is under attack by people who are trying to sour his relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

City Press reports Mantashe made this claim as the battle for the top six positions in the ANC intensifies.

There are rumours that Mantashe has his eye on the position of Deputy President, with incumbent David Mabuza reportedly considering the secretary-general position.

However, the newspaper claims that Mantashe doesn’t have the support of lobbyists within Ramaphosa’s camp. Their preferred candidates are Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise and ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.

ALSO READ: ANCYL push to have Lamola replace Mabuza as deputy president

Mantashe is now claiming that there is a negative narrative being created around him by a foreign-funded campaign. He said this campaign involves the media, research institutions and civil society groups.

He added that the media was trying to make him look bad because of the way he is running his department and his perceived lack of interest in renewable energy.

“Many journalists and editors have created a picture of an isolated Gwede Mantashe. I’m running [the department of] mineral resources and energy. I’m not running renewable energy. I’m running mineral resources and energy,” he said.

Mantashe also said that he is not interested in the position of deputy president.

“Anybody will know that I do not want to be the deputy president. I think the deputy president must be a younger and more energetic person who is also considered for succession,” he said.

Contradictions

In November, Mantashe publicly contradicted Ramaphosa on the country’s just transition from coal.

After South Africa signed a $8.5 billion (R131 billion) deal with the US and European countries to help the country transition from coal towards renewable energy, Mantashe said he was willing to go to court to build more coal plants.

ALSO READ: Mantashe says he’s ready to go to court to build more coal plants

“I know that we’re going to end up in court for it… Everything we do you end up in court, but I think we should,” he told reporters.

In October, the energy minister also said that South Africa should not be forced by rich countries to ban new coal-power projects.

“They must not give us conditions, they are developed countries,” Mantashe said. “We are a developing economy, they must talk to our programme.”

Private electricity generation

In August, Mantashe was forced by Ramaphosa to publish the proposed amendment to the Electricity Regulation Act that enables businesses and individuals to generate up to 100MW of electricity without a licence from the national energy regulator, Nersa.

Mantashe had been slow to change the regulations and had maintained that the threshold should be kept at 50MW.

NOW READ: Mantashe buckles – 100 MW electricity generation amendment finally gazetted