South Africa Cape Town 07- March- 2023 -Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has been appointed Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity. Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has officially been sworn in by the Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the Deputy President during swearing-in ceremony of new members of the National Executive.The ceremony will take place at Tuynhuys in Cape Town. photographer Ayanda Ndamane / African News Agency (ANA)
While South Africans are grappling with the undesirable and recalcitrant effects of load shedding, the recent declaration by the president of a national state of disaster to deal with the constraint and severity of electricity supply has evoked mixed feelings from the public that the dreaded intrusiveness of load shedding will be eradicated.
Furthermore, the announcement of the new minister of electricity during the Cabinet reshuffle was a glaring display that the government orchestra is in sync towards creating a load shedding-free anthem.
First, the president acknowledged that without a reliable supply of electricity, businesses cannot grow, assembly lines cannot run, and crops cannot be irrigated. He further mentioned that the impact of the crisis on farmers must be lessened because this affects food security.
Second, during the Budget speech, the minister of finance rehashed the president’s remarks, alluding to the fact that record levels of load shedding experienced in 2022 saw the country experiencing blackouts for 207 days. This translated to astronomical loss, for example, by broiler farmers who could not keep the heaters on, resulting in their chickens dying.
The same goes for crop farmers, who were unable to use their irrigation pumps to water their crops. This loss in revenue has a ripple effect on food and job security, worsening the recovery of an economy ruined by Covid-19.
Under the new disaster management regulations gazetted by the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, the new minister of electricity must inject much-needed impetus along with other ministers, such as those of agriculture, land reform and rural development, to minimise the impact of load shedding on livelihoods, the economy and food security.
The state of disaster must enable ministers to provide practical measures that need to be taken to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including the roll-out of generators and solar panels.
In the agricultural sector, measures taken during the height of Covid-19, such as the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which enabled the public to earn a living, need to be brought back to cushion small-scale farmers, with input vouchers to buy solar panels and generators in an endeavour to boost their production capacity and food security.
* Themba Mzula Hleko, Pretoria.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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