Mantashe’s energy measure’s too little too late

Support our plan to save Eskom before it takes the entire country down with it: https://keepthelightson.co.za

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, issued a statement earlier today about government’s planned interventions to resolve the electricity crisis. While the Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the fact that he has finally stood up, sadly, it is too little too late.

The section 34 determinations are a very welcome announcement, as these have been sitting on his desk for months. This will allow capable municipalities and large power consumers to procure power directly from independent power producers (IPPs).

His comments about the Request for Information (RFI) for new IPP generation, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The IPP Office is set up to do this work and is globally recognised as being one of the best at rolling out procurement of such projects. New IPP projects (particularly in the renewable sector) are ready to go, and merely await the opening of the next bid window to roll out electricity solutions that are more cost effective and environmentally sustainable in a much shorter timeframe than it would take to procure new coal, gas or nuclear plants. Equally, the Minister must ease regulation on the licensing of small scale plants (under 10MW) and residential generation.

The DA remains committed to working with  Government in finding solutions to the rolling blackouts that are having a devastating effect on our economy. We are willing to engage further with the Minister in this regard, if he is prepared to listen.

DA refers Minister Zwane to Ethics committee for deliberately misleading Parliament

The DA has submitted formal complaints to Parliament’s Ethics Committee and the Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, against Mineral Resources Minister, Mosebenzi Zwane, for deliberately misleading Parliament. Zwane appears to have deliberately misrepresented information to Parliament when he recently stated, in a written Parliamentary reply, that his December 2015 trip to Dubai was organised and paid for by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).
However, the Public Protector’s State of Capture report found that Zwane had not used the ticket the DMR purchased for him to travel from Zurich to Dubai. The question is, how did Zwane get to Dubai?
Leaked Gupta emails list the Minister, along with Tony Gupta, as a passenger on a Gupta-sponsored flight that was cleared to fly to Dubai on 2 December 2015.
Based on the replies he submitted to Parliament, it appears that Zwane deliberately misled Parliament, which is a breach of Section 7 (a) and (b) of the Powers, Privilege and Immunities Act.
In addition to these allegations, Zwane has also seemingly mislead Parliament when he failed to satisfactorily answer a DA Parliamentary question regarding interaction with the Gupta family. In his response to the DA, Minister Zwane stated that he “has not met with any member, nor close associate of the Guptas”.
Yet, in the media, the Minister has been quoted saying, “Let me put the record straight: I met with them, I’ve engaged them”. Furthermore, the leaked Gupta emails show that the Minister was due to meet with Tony Gupta at the Guptas’ Saxonwold compound.
The DA has now referred this evidence to the Ethics Committee, as well as the Public Protector, to request that the Minister be investigated as a matter of urgency.
Misrepresenting information and deliberately misleading Parliament are serious offences and the Minister must be held to account.
It is clear that Zwane has been captured by the Guptas to further their corrupt interests. His trip to Dubai, in his official capacity, on a Gupta-sponsored flight, is just another example of how he has been placed in his position to loot our public coffers and steal from the poor.
The DA will ensure that every ANC Minister that has been captured and corrupted by the Guptas is brought to book and faces the full might of the law.

Ngubane’s resignation will not exonerate him from Eskom Parliamentary Inquiry

The Democratic Alliance has noted the late-night resignation of Eskom Board Chair, Ben Ngubane, hot on the heels of damning revelations of the capture of Eskom leadership by the Guptas, and the breakdown of corporate governance at Eskom.
Mr Ngubane, who presided over the retrenchment/retirement/rehire of Brian Molefe as Eskom CEO has much to answer for, not least of which includes Molefe’s R30 million ‘golden handshake’ deal and an avalanche of accusations that the Guptas have milked Eskom over many years.
Ngubane’s resignation will not exonerate him from liability for the breakdown of governance at the Power Utility, and the DA will use the Parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom, set to commence on 21 June, to hold Ngubane to account.
Allegations by former Mineral Resources Minister, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, that Brian Molefe and Ben Ngubane tried to strong-arm him to withdraw Glencore’s Optimum mining licences in order to guarantee that the Guptas takeover Glencore’s coal mines is yet to be probed, and may still find Nguabne guilty.
Additionally, the Matshela Koko R1 billion nepotism scandal, which occurred on Ngubane’s watch, is yet to be fully probed too.
Ngubane has also recently been implicated in falsifying documents in a liquidation case.
We find the clandestine hour of Ngubane’s resignation announcement to be highly suspicious.