The ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says there is no time frame in which to end the rolling blackouts that Eskom has subjected the country to.
Eskom had reduced its rolling blackouts from stage five to four, after escalating them to stage six. Ramaphosa visited Philippi and Khayelitsha, as part of the ANC’s Letsema Campaign.
Ramaphosa says there is no time frame as to when the rolling blackouts will come to an end. He says several issues plague Eskom currently.
“We need to repair that broken system and it has been so for quite a long time. It’s got many parts to it. It’s got skills base to it, it’s got machines based to it, it’s got flawed designs of power stations, it’s got various aspects,” he said.
“It’s also got an element of sabotage. Where people, either service providers or employees go in and cut wires so that there can breakage of units. So it’s a combination of all these things we are dealing with,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa leads Letsema campaign in the Western Cape:
He says the party is following its constitution in dealing with the Phala Phala scandal. Ramaphosa explained to the media what process the party was following in dealing with the matter.
“The integrity report on all matters that they have been dealing with is going to be part of organisational report. So, all the issues that they have been dealing with will be part of the organisational report. Like every other subcommittee of the ANC, it will be tabled before the conference and that’s it. There’s not much to it,” he said.
Addressing the scourge of gender-based violence; Ramaphosa has called for a national men’s dialogue. He called on young people to get involved with youth organisations and avoid the pitfalls of drugs and gangsterism.
“We must not be spectators of violence that are happening in our communities, we must get involved, either through the various organisations we belong to, either through school parent organisations , police forums and a variety of other organisations, ”he said.
Ramaphosa says the party has been weakened by its own mistakes. He says the party is now re-positioning itself through its renewal programme.
“We have admitted as the African National Congress that along the way yes there were certain things that started happening that deviated us from that path but now through the renewal program, “he said.
“We are firmly working our way to the values the principles that our forebears and initiated a practice that they embraced throughout the years , and this has to be seen in part of the work that we are doing in terms of fighting against corruption,’ he said.
“We did say that corruption has taken root with the ANC within government and we are pushing back we are fighting back and I guess the state capture experience that we have been through should be demonstrable enough, “said Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, residents who attended the mini rally in Philippi say they hope the president will fulfil the promises he has made.
“The president’s speech yes it’s a promising speech but now if the president can assist because here at Hazeldene we have got a problem of crime,” said a resident.
Ramaphosa says the ANC is enjoying good support in the Western Cape.
