By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the governing party is working to implement “lasting solutions” in order to solve the energy crisis “once and for all”.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) convened a four-day meeting, starting on Friday, to discuss a number of issues regarding the country’s challenges, including load shedding.
He speaking on the sidelines of the NEC meeting in Boksburg.
Mbalula said the NEC was expected to receive a report from Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa following his visit to various Eskom power stations across the country last month.
“We are pleased with the evaluations of [comrade] Sputla, and look forward to mobilising all of society behind the decisive actions which we shall emerge from this NEC meeting with.”
“Of course, the solutions related to energy are not an end in themselves, but are an important contributor to ensuring shared and lasting prosperity for all,” he further said.
Mbalula also commented on reports that Ramokgopa was at loggerheads with Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
“We are not interested in fighting for territorial battle. Anyone who is doing that, the ANC will deal with it from this meeting onward. We didn’t appoint the electricity minister to struggle for power for whatever reason. We want a working relationship that is smooth and that intervenes.”
Mbalula further said South Africans do not care about ANC internal battles but are more concerned about the solutions to end load shedding.
“South Africans are not interested about territorial battles, but we are interested about what is it that we do to increase generation capacity in the country in the shortest possible time.”
Mbalula seemingly agreed with the suggestion that Ramokgopa be allowed to resolve the energy crisis without any obstacles.
Earlier this month, Ramokgopa proposed that government extend the life of some of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations to avoid losing megawatts (MW) in generation capacity.
Mass Shootings
Mbalula has also expressed concern on the series of mass shootings in KwaZulu-Natal that has left more than a dozen people dead this week.
On Thursday four people were killed in KwaMashu, while 10 people where gunned down in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
Mbalula says the community should work with police to fight crime and not take matters into their own hands.
“We are concerned by the rise of crime, there are lot of guns in our society and we need to rise in working with the police to fight this, the ANC will in the next coming weeks mobilise the society in the fight against crime in the country.
“Visible intervention in the fight against crime in mobilising the community is important equally, in terms of Community Policing Forums, in doing so we are not asking people to take the law into their own hands but work with police to fight violent crime.”
Mbalula says the rise in violent crimes is also linked to the strugggling economy.
“The rising of crime is linked to the economic situation all the time, when the economy is going south and not north. You will find that social ills that rise amongst others is the rise of crime is as a result of unemployment and so on.”
Putin’s arrest
Mbalula said the governing party is still struggling to decide on whether to remain member of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The debate on the ICC has flared up again following the arrest warrant issued by the court against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged unlawfully deportation of Ukrainian children in the one-year-old war.
South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute which makes it mandatory for Pretoria to arrest Putin in when he is expected to attend the BRICS summit in August.
“We are grappling with the issue of the ICC, not only in relation to Russia, before that because it was the work of the last NEC. This ANC has not reflected by saying are grappling it is a matter that was left somewhere and not concluded,” said Mbalula.
“It could as well at the end the decision will be that we are not going out, we stay and, but in terms of the last NEC these are some of the outstanding matters we need to deal with as the NEC. By saying we are grappling we are indeed in that discussion.”