Energy experts and different political parties said they have faith in the newly announced measures by President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with the energy crisis in the country.
ENERGY experts and different political parties said they have faith in the newly announced measures by President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with the energy crisis in the country.
On Monday night, Ramaphosa announced new measures to combat the current energy crisis that has plunged the country into Stage 6 load shedding.
The measures include procuring power from private players such as mines, paper mills and shopping malls, as well as excess power from neighbouring countries in the SADC region.
Speaking to eNCA, energy expert David Lipschitz said that there must be a concerted effort to use all the resources available to win the challenge against electricity shortages.
“It is important to understand that renewable energy is not the only way that’s going to solve our problem, we need to have a mix of measures which correspond,” said Lipschitz.
“I worry a little bit that environmental concerns will be put on the back seat in an environment where we are trying to be more environmentally friendly and have more sustainable energy transition; we need not to take short cuts while moving where we need to go.”
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Bonke Holomisa agreed with Lipschitz and said countries that don’t experience energy problem usually rely on coal and renewable energy as well as nuclear energy.
“The president’s strategy can work if he has the people to implement the plan. We’ve had such good plans in the past but we are always hesitant because of the lack of implementation.
“There’s an opportunity in this country because we have those resources, why don’t we look into the sector holistically.
“Notwithstanding that, there’s a call from that national committee to move towards renewable energy but we must also look at what other countries are doing,” he told the SABC.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said that what Ramaphosa stated during his speech was a reiteration of what he had already said in the past.
“He said it before and it came out with no results,” Tambo said speaking to the SABC.
Tambo added that Ramaphosa failed to provide concrete solutions which will also benefit the poor.
