President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa is working with other countries to ensure reliable energy supply in the SADC region. This comes at a time when the country is facing electricity blackouts.
The war in Ukraine has contributed to higher oil prices which will likely translate into higher fuel prices.
Ramaphosa said this at the Presidential Imbizo in the North West on Saturday. The Imbizo aimed to look at the challenges facing South Africans and it was no surprise that the issues of electricity outages as well as expected higher fuel prices were high on the agenda.
While the President called on the Minister of Energy to provide answers, Gwede Mantashe noted that Eskom fell under more than one ministry.
“Three ministers are kept awake by this issue of blackouts. The first one is the Minister in the Presidency. Then it’s myself and three it’s the Minister of Public Enterprises. The reason that all these three ministers must deal with this issue is because Eskom is a public enterprise… At the end of the day, noise goes to the President.”
Minister of @DMRE_ZA Gwede Mantashe addressing issues raised in regards to Mining and Energy in the North West province. #PresidentialImbizo pic.twitter.com/C5zNHgxkdA
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) March 12, 2022
President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out that South Africa sold electricity to neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and Lesotho, but emphasized that these nations consume only a fraction of what the South African economy does.
“So the electricity that we sell to them is very minimal and they pay consistently. So when we go through our own blackouts, the electricity we sell to them is also slightly reduced. But in time Mozambique is going to be a great producer of electricity as will Namibia as well.”
In a bid to demonstrate that no country can exist alone as an island, the President noted that while South Africa supports neighbouring countries with electricity exports, the country, which is a water-scarce one, also benefits from receiving imports of water from countries like Lesotho.
Ramaphosa working with SADC to ensure reliable energy supply:
