The newly appointed Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is “very confident” that there will be an end to load shedding.
Ramokgopa, who officially took office on Tuesday, said that there is already an energy action plan with timelines in place.
He was speaking to the media shortly after he was sworn in by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo at Tuynhuys in Cape Town.
“There is an energy action plan, it already has timelines there. body copy_bold: “Ask the question whether we are able to meet these timelines, if the answer is no, then why is it that we can’t meet these timelines,” Ramokgopa said.
“If it requires us invoking the provision of the Disaster Management Act then we will do that and then present to the council.
“I know that there is an appetite that is justified from our people, they really want to know when is load shedding going to end.
“The point I am making is that we are going to be honest and transparent with the South African people about our ability to address this.”
According to the EskomSePush app, there were 81 days of load shedding in 2022.
In 2020, there were 35 days of darkness.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said Ramokgopa “will have political responsibility, authority and control over all critical aspects of the Energy Action Plan”.
He said the minister would remain in office only for as long as it was necessary to resolve the electricity crisis.
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