The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s clear and unambiguous commitment in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to establish a “fully independent state-owned transmission entity” that will have direct “ownership and control of transmission assets”.
This announcement marks a significant turnaround for Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Eskom CEO Dan Marokane. For weeks, they have claimed that structural separation was “impossible” due to lender constraints and have argued for a watered-down subsidiary model that would have kept the grid firmly under Eskom’s thumb.
By explicitly stating that the new entity will own the assets, the President has finally aligned with the DA’s long-standing demand for a “clean break”.
In his SONA, the President effectively admitted what the DA has said all along: a competitive energy market is impossible as long as Eskom remains both the player and the referee.
The SONA announcement is a massive win for:
- Energy Security: An independent grid owner separate from Eskom (even though still a state-owned entity) can finally mobilize the R440 billion needed for expansion without being “infected” by Eskom’s junk-status debt.
- Fair Competition: The Grid Access Unit (GAU) can no longer be used as a gatekeeper to protect Eskom’s failing coal fleet at the expense of cheaper, private renewable energy.
- International Trust: This move restores the credibility of the R250 billion ($8.3 billion) Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which was being sabotaged by the Minister’s policy backsliding.
While we welcome the President’s change of heart, the DA remains skeptical of his announcement of yet another “dedicated task team”. South Africans have seen enough task teams; we need a hard deadline.
The DA now calls on Minister Ramokgopa and Mr. Marokane to:
- Publicly Commit: Formally endorse the President’s “asset ownership” model and abandon their legally dubious subsidiary plan.
- Provide a Clear Timeline: The task team must report back within the promised three months with a concrete date for the full legal transfer of assets.
- Disclose Lender Realities: Stop using “lender consent” as a convenient shield and disclose the actual terms of the negotiations that the President has now clearly indicated can be overcome.
The President has signalled the end of the Eskom monopoly’s stranglehold on our grid. The DA will not let this become another broken SONA promise. We will be watching the “phased implementation” like a hawk to ensure that “independent” truly means independent.
The DA has won the argument. Now, we will ensure South Africans win the results.