As we enter the second week since President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated his government’s intention to announce measures to address the energy crisis, the DA has in the meantime written to the President cautioning against the declaration of a State of Emergency. Download the letter here.
The DA holds the view that a state of emergency exceeds the bounds of reasonableness and will be too extreme a step to take in response to a crisis that is largely concentrated on administrative red tape and stonewalling from Minister Gwede Mantashe on independent power production.
We will reject any action taken to declare a State of Emergency.
When the DA held a Press Conference on the 12 May 2022, we made the point that a ring-fenced State of Disaster should be declared on Eskom and the Electricity sector. A ring-fenced State of Disaster would act as an enabler to remove impediments for the full participation of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and bringing of new generation capacity online in the shortest time possible.
Only a ring-fenced state of disaster will, in the short-term, help South Africa secure the amount of power made available by Eskom’s fleet of power plants to meet the minimum demands by consumers, in addition to opening up – with speed – alternative sources of supply to meet the nation’s requirements.
South Africa is in the middle of an economically damaging energy crisis. A ring-fenced state of disaster, that is fully accountable to Parliament, can be an effective tool to remove red tape and unlock investment in new generation capacity. A state of emergency is not the appropriate action to take in response to the crisis and the DA will reject it outright should such a step be taken.