Pretoria - South Africa wakes up today under the national state of disaster declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address (Sona) in the Cape Town City Hall last night.
The state of disaster, according to Ramaphosa, was aimed at addressing the energy crisis faced by the country as a result of ailing power utility Eskom.
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has gazetted the declaration of the State of Disaster, “which will begin with immediate effect”.
“The state of disaster will enable us to provide practical measures that we need to take to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including for the roll-out of generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply,” Ramaphosa said.
“Where technically possible, it will enable us to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding. And it will enable us to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protections, procurement principles and technical standards,” he added.
Ramaphosa said the auditor-general would be roped in to monitor expenditure continuously and to guard against any abuses of the public funds needed to address the disaster.
He announced that he would appoint a minister of electricity in the Presidency to oversee all the crises related to energy and to ensure that the energy action plan was implemented without delay.
Part of the new minister’s duties would be the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee, and to work with the Eskom board and management with the aim of ending load shedding, he said.
“So as to remove any confusion, the Minister of Public Enterprises will remain the shareholder representative of Eskom and steer the restructuring of Eskom, ensure the establishment of the transmission company, oversee the implementation of the just energy transition programme, and oversee the establishment of the SOE holding company,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa’s address was made amid widespread public outrage over the prolonged load shedding, the high levels of unemployment and rampant corruption.
His address was made amid tension and chaos which prevailed when the EFF MPs constantly interjected him by raising points of orders.
The sitting got off to a rowdy start when EFF leader Julius Malema insisted that Ramaphosa be barred from delivering the State of the Nation Address because he had taken Parliament to court and he had therefore “declared a motion of no confidence against this Parliament”, Malema said.
Other EFF members joined in to call for several points of orders, which were rejected by Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa- Nqakula as being unrelated to the business of the day.
In stamping her authority, Mapisa- Nqakula abruptly ordered the removal of African Transformation Movement leader Vuyolwethu Zungula as soon as he had finished telling the Speaker that she was disrupting speakers who were addressing her.
“The reason why I ordered (Zungula) to be removed is that he defied my instructions,” Mapisa-Nqakula explained.
The EFF members were also forcefully ejected from the House after they attempted to move closer to Ramaphosa at the podium, but they were kept at bay by the presidential security.
DA leader John Steenhuisen expressed concern that, prior to being called in, the armed security personnel were already inside the House even before they could officially be allowed by the Speaker.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald, however, said he differed from his colleagues.
He said members of the EFF had made a mistake by approaching the stage and threatening the president.
However, at that stage when the security personnel moved in, there was no danger to the president.
In his address, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the electricity shortage had caused enough damage to the country’s economy.
He said the government would proceed with the roll-out of rooftop solar panels as had been indicated in July last year.
“In his Budget speech, the Minister of Finance will outline how households will be assisted and how businesses will be able to benefit from a tax incentive.
“National Treasury is working on adjustments to the bounce-back loan scheme to help small businesses invest in solar equipment, and to allow banks and development finance institutions to borrow directly from the scheme to facilitate the leasing of solar panels to their customers.
“One of the potent reforms we have embarked upon is to allow private developers to generate electricity,” he said.
According to Ramaphosa, there were more than 100 projects which were expected to provide more than 9 000MW of new capacity over time.
“A number of companies that have participated in the renewable energy programme will soon enter construction and deliver a total of 2 800MW of new capacity.
“Eskom will procure emergency power that can be deployed within six months to close the immediate gap. We are investing in new transmission lines and substations, especially in areas such as the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape,” he added.
He also used the opportunity to announce the imminent process of restructuring the government, saying it would allow his administration to determine the positioning of various areas of responsibilities and how best the various ministries and departments could best serve national objectives.
“We are focusing our attention on the energy crisis right now and will address the restructuring of government in due course.
“This is necessary because an effective response to this crisis involves several different departments and entities that require co-ordination from the centre of government.
“We will be including other social partners in an effective structure similar to the one we set up to drive the vaccine roll-out,” he said.
Ramaphosa also spoke about the government’s plan to ensure water security, saying the Department of Water and Sanitation was leading the process of investing in major infrastructure projects across the country.
Crimes against women and children, he said, remained a deeply disturbing feature.
“In November last year, we held the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide to assess progress in the implementation of the national strategic plan, which was adopted as a comprehensive, effective and united response to this pandemic,” Ramaphosa said.
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