MPs slam Ramaphosa's energy solution, state of disaster

Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces were in Parliament on Tuesday and will meet again on Wednesday to debate President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address.

Ramaphosa delivered his address on Thursday last week.

He will be given an opportunity to respond to the debate on Thursday.

The ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina opened the debate by saying "the grandstanding" by some parties is an abuse of a serious debate for political campaigning.

"A lot of hot air is going to be blown about the government’s declaration of a National State of Disaster to respond to the electricity crisis and its effects. The critics of this approach miss the most important elements of the intervention, namely the strong central coordination and decisive action needed to deal with a national crisis on this scale. President and government is heading to a call by the citizen to end load shedding and stabilise energy through intervention across the country," said Majodina.

This while the DA leader John Steenhuisen described Ramaphosa's presidency as five disastrous years.

"If you thought we 'lost some gains' under Zuma, then under this administration, we have only gained losses. What happened under Zuma was a tragedy. But what happened under your watch is a farce.  The “New Dawn” was a false dawn. Ramaphoria was a delusion. Your supposed commitment to reform was hollow. Unemployment has skyrocketed from 36% to 43% since Mr Ramaphosa became President in 2018.

"Murder has increased by 20% over the same period, with 70 people murdered in this country every day. And, as we all know, rolling power blackouts have become a permanent feature of life in the Ramaphosa era," said Steenhuisen.

IFP chief whip Narend Singh, who was speaking on behalf of the party's parliamentary leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, said if anyone is asked to define South Africa, they would say load shedding.

 " You have told us that South Africa is defined by hope and resilience. But if you ask anyone on the street what defines us, they would say load-shedding, unemployment and crime. You are right that we are not a people easily resigned to our fate. But there is a warning in that. How long will it be before you have a revolution on your hands? And believe me, it will not be a silent revolution," said Singh.

Meanwhile, the EFF Leader  Julius Malema criticised Ramaphosa for failing to remove Pravin Gordhan as the Minister of Public Enterprises.

"You agree that Eskom has failed to discharge its responsibility, Eskom has always had a minister and that is a minister of public enterprise and if we need a separate minister, it means that minister has failed.

Why are you so scared to remove an incompetent minister that has collapsed everything under a state-owned enterprise?"

ALSO READ