Not even the announcement of a new minister of electricity could convince the nation’s agriculture leaders that government could reduce the severity of ongoing power cuts. Food For Mzansi’s Duncan Masiwa, Octavia Spandiel, Tiisetso Manoko and Sinenhlanhla Ngwenya reports.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address this evening has left him with more questions than answers, says Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede. This, as government declared “a state of disaster” amid rising public wrath over Eskom’s electricity woes.
In his seventh Sona speech, the president acknowledged that without a reliable supply of electricity, efforts to grow an inclusive economy that creates jobs and reduces poverty would not succeed.
“Without a reliable supply of electricity, businesses cannot grow, assembly lines cannot run, crops cannot be irrigated and basic services are interrupted,” the president said after initially being interrupted by members of the EFF.
Among his interventions to address load shedding was the imminent appointment of a new minister of electricity – a first for South Africa. “The minister will focus full-time and work with the Eskom board and management on ending load shedding and ensuring that the energy action plan is implemented without delay,” vowed Ramaphosa.
However, Van der Rheede tells Duncan Masiwa he was rather unimpressed. “At this point in time, we have more questions than answers. The president has announced that a minister of electricity would be appointed, so it means there’s an additional bureaucratic layer that Eskom has to contend with.”
Van der Rheede is sceptical about who the president would appoint to the new portfolio. Ramaphosa is expected to announce at least four new cabinet ministers by the weekend.
“If it’s an electricity engineer with experience, then by all means,” says Van der Rheede. “But if it is another politician then we won’t get any solution very quickly.”
Although Ramaphosa pointed out that the electricity-induced state of disaster would enable practical measures to support businesses across all sectors, including agriculture, Van der Rheede says the details are still vague.
“We would like to know more. What will this entail and how will this state of disaster solve the issues that we are currently confronted with,” he asks.
Reacting to the president’s Sona, Eastern Cape farmer Sinelizwi Fakade tells Octavia Spandiel the disaster declaration could be to the benefit of the country’s farmers. “But one just hopes that it does not fall into the trap of processes being flouted and finding ourselves in a position where resources end up landing in the wrong hands,” he says.
Ramaphosa furthermore announced plans to find a solution to Eskom’s R400-billion debt burden. He says Eskom would also be helped to purchase diesel for the rest of the financial year. “This should reduce the severity of load shedding as Eskom will be able to use its diesel-run plants when the system is under strain.”
250 000 more Pesi vouchers
Dr Siyabonga Madlala, executive chairperson of the South African Farmers’ Development Association (Safda), tells Tiisetso Manoko that Ramaphosa was right on the money with his Sona.
“This will help accelerate the measures to be put in place to reduce load shedding and stimulate private power production. We also welcome the proposal for the minister of electricity. There is a need for a focused and dedicated ministry to this important resource,” he says.
Ramaphosa also highlighted that the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (Pesi) has supported about 140 000 small-scale farmers with input vouchers to buy seeds, fertiliser and equipment, providing a much-needed boost for food security and agricultural reform.
This year, government aims to provide 250 000 more Pesi vouchers to small-scale farmers.
Madlala welcomes the continuation of the Pesi vouchers, but says more efforts are needed to help those farmers who are barely coping with the increase in input cost items like fertiliser.
“While we welcome the positive steps the president has outlined, we believe that a moratorium on sugar tax should be looked at and some form of protection from load shedding as this lowers the yields. Power cuts have hit commodities like poultry very hard. Farmers are losing their produce,” he says.
Meanwhile, Billy Claassen, executive director of the Rural and Farmworkers’ Development Organisation, tells Sinenhlanhla Ngewenya he is frustrated that farmworkers were overlooked in the Sona.
“I didn’t hear anything from the time I switched on the TV,” he says. “I didn’t hear him say anything about farmworkers. He only spoke about the efforts in place for small-scale farmers, but he said nothing about farmworkers or the conditions [they] are working and living in.”
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