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Sunday Times notes in an editorial that it has been three months since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he would appoint a minister in the Presidency to deal specifically with the country's electricity crisis.
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was appointed to the position in March and immediately set off on a power station and media tour to show the nation he was hard at work. But as the weeks pass, with rolling blackouts increasing and the weather turning, the minister looks increasingly in the dark and out in the cold. His powers and functions have yet to be finalised because the president wanted to meet other ministers to discuss them. Much of the hope and goodwill after his appointment has faded with every increasing load-shedding stage. He has had to field several questions about his effectiveness and told the National Council of Provinces this week he is “not a junior minister” and his presence “is not ornamental”. But a few hours earlier he conceded in a television interview that he was effectively just a project manager until he was given powers. While many citizens rush to plan their lives around stage 6 load-shedding there is no such urgency by the government to confirm the minister's powers. Confirming these powers is the first and most basic step to allow Ramokgopa to do what Ramaphosa said he must do, namely oversee all aspects of the electricity crisis response and work with Eskom on ending load-shedding. Ramaphosa on Thursday told the National Assembly he would “very shortly” outline Ramokgopa's mandate.
- Read this editorial in full at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page