Power crisis: FF Plus says Mantashe is not the right man for the job

The Freedom Front Plus has charged that minister of mineral resources and energy Gwede Mantashe has proven that he is not the right minister to help South Africa weather the current power crisis.

This swipe was in response to Mantashe’s statement Eskom CEO André de Ruyter was not the right person to fix Eskom, with the FF Plus MP Wynand Boshoff saying this would have been funny if the matter was not so serious.

He said Mantashe’s statement comes amid increasing pressure on all role players to solve South Africa’s energy crisis before it turns into a national disaster.

“[Mantashe] compared De Ruyter to Eskom’s chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer, who, in Mantashe’s view, seems to know exactly what is going on and what needs to be done to turn matters around,” Boshoff, the party’s spokesperson on minerals and energy, said on Saturday.

According to Mantashe, he said, someone like De Ruyter will be able to play a more effective role once the turn-around phase is over and had also lamented the fact that the Eskom board does not include an accountant or an engineer.

He said Mantashe has been serving as minister of mineral resources and energy since 2019 and that his appointment was accompanied by optimism and hope that he would take the urgent steps needed to overcome the looming crisis.

“That hope has since disappointed. The process to get renewable power projects approved and online is notorious for its bureaucratic red tape. It is also no secret that Mantashe did not support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the decision that independent power projects up to 100 MW may be constructed without permission. And meanwhile, rumours that the registration of such projects is being administratively delayed keep circulating,” Boshoff said.

He said Mantashe’s solution to the power crisis revolved around coal and natural gas, saying the minister repeatedly reiterated his personal commitment to using coal, while his department kept up its attempts to prospect for crude oil and natural gas along the South African coast. 

Hydrofracking for natural gas in the Karoo is on the table once again after a ruling by the court set aside the previous regulations, Boshoff said, and that this area, which was sometimes classified as half-desert, has been utilised sustainably for millennia.

“The fear is that hydrofracking could pollute and/or deplete its scarce water sources. On 15 July, a pre-colloquium, or preliminary discussion, was held about the sustainable and responsible exploitation of the country’s oil and gas resources. It was a joint event hosted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries,” Boshoff said.

What was remarkable, he said, was that spokespersons from the Department of Energy emphasised the potential extent of the resources, while the spokespersons of Environmental Affairs questioned the utilisation thereof.

“What was abundantly clear was that the department under Mantashe’s lead sought solutions in nostalgic illusions of large government corporations and government-sponsored pollution.

In addition, Ramaphosa came up with the idea of a “second Eskom” (this time, under Mantashe’s Department) earlier this week – as if that Minister and that department are known for getting things done,” Boshoff said.

He said Mantashe has already shirked all responsibility with regard to the power crisis because Eskom falls under the Department of Public Enterprises, and not his department.

“It is indeed time for [Mantashe] to resign of his own accord, instead of making remarks about institutions that fall outside of his department,” Boshoff added.