ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said this minister would lead the charge in driving the necessary interventions aimed at eliminating load shedding and stabilising the electricity supply in the country.
ANC SECRETARY-general Fikile Mbalula said the party’s national executive committee expressed its support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s intervention to appoint a dedicated minister of electricity.
Mbalula said this minister would lead the charge in driving the necessary interventions aimed at eliminating load shedding and stabilising the electricity supply in the country.
“This intervention is in line with the resolutions of the ANC’s 55th national (elective) conference, which calls on the government to take immediate and decisive interventions to end load shedding, alongside the implementation of long-term solutions to the country’s energy supply crisis,” he said.
Mbalula was speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday following the ANC holding a special national executive committee meeting at the weekend to consider a range of organisational, national and international matters.
He said the minister would report directly to the president and the Cabinet.
During his State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa announced that a minister of electricity would be appointed, but it is still not clear when he will reveal the name of the person appointed to the position, or the timeline for the appointment.
The ANC confirmed that ministers in the Cabinet had been tasked with identifying issues that would need to be regulated in terms of the state of disaster over the power crisis.
Mbalula said those ministers would elaborate on the different regulations when they were ready.
According to unconfirmed reports, the minister of electricity might be the head of investment and infrastructure development in the Presidency, Kgosientso “Sputla” Ramokgopa.
However, in an interview Ramokgopa denied this and stated that he had not met with the president about the matter.
Regarding the anticipated Cabinet reshuffle, Mbalula said the party expected this to happen by the end of the month.
The ANC confirmed that the president would only speak with the “top seven” – which includes Mbalula – before making the decision, as well as with its alliance partners, Cosatu and the SACP.
Last week, the alliance partners expressed concern after saying they had not been consulted about the matter of a minister of electricity.
Mbalula also insisted that a reshuffle of the Cabinet had not been delayed.
“There is no delay in terms of a reshuffle or anything. We have been dealing with one, producing a successful January 8 (outcome), where we finalised our resolutions and reconfigured ourselves in terms of the NEC. We finalised the conference resolutions, and they are ready to be printed. Now we are developing a programme of action, and that’s what we’re doing,” Mbalula said.
He said that the government had the various state of the province addresses and the Budget to deal with.
He said that all of these issues obviously required answers and needed to be closed.
“We can’t have a situation where the leading government and the ruling party are hanging on something that never comes to a conclusion.”
Mbalula envisaged that all of these things would happen and be wrapped up by the end of February.
It was revealed that the Reverend Frank Chikane would now chair the party’s integrity commission, and his deputy would be Struggle stalwart Sophie de Bruyn.
The commission was required to hand over work done in its investigations of the Digital Vibes scandal involving Dr Zweli Mkhize, who was appointed the head of the ANC’s social transformation subcommittee, and the Phala Phala scandal, which involved Mbalula.
Mbalula stated that Free State premier Sisi Ntombela had informed him of his intention to resign, but said he had not yet received a resignation letter from her.
The full-time NEC members who will support organisational work at Luthuli House are: Sibongile Besani as Head: Presidency; Febe Potgieter as Head: Research; Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri as national spokesperson; David Makhura as Head: Political Education; Mduduzi Manana as Head: Organising and Membership; and Mdumiseni Ntuli as Manager: Elections.
