‘CR and his deputy are out of touch’
They need to speak in one accord – expert
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy David Mabuza need to speak in one accord, political expert Ralph Mathekga said yesterday.
“The deputy president and the president have differed in their statements. At this point, we are all asking who should we believe? You can’t have that… Ramaphosa and Mabuza should take the podium together and speak in one accord,” he said.
Mathekga’s comments follow conflicting sentiments shared by Ramaphosa and Mabuza on matters concerning power utility Eskom
Last week, Mabuza stated that he was of the view that the president was being misled by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Eskom board with regard to load shedding.
This was after Ramaphosa reassured the country late last year that there would be no planned power outages. But over the past few weeks, the country has experienced several power cuts.
In a statement yesterday, Eskom indicated that there would be no load shedding and that operations had resumed at its Koeberg Unit 1 power station.
“Our teams continue to work around the clock to return units from planned and unplanned outages. The additional capacity brought online, as well as lower demand over the weekend has allowed us to replenish our pumped storage schemes, and we continue to work to improve the levels of diesel at our open-cycle plants and gas-turbine generators.
“The system remains vulnerable owing (to) inadequate maintenance over a number of years,” Eskom said.
Meanwhile, despite the appointment of chief executive André de
Ruyter to steer the ship in the right direction, the utility’s board chairperson Jabu Mabuza quit on Friday, throwing the organisation into further disarray.
City Press has reported that Jabu, who was appointed into the role in January 2018, had faced mounting pressure following remarks by the deputy president that Ramaphosa was misled by Eskom’s top management. The Presidency remains mum on Ramphosa’s next move on the myriad challenges facing Eskom.
Ramaphosa spokesperson Khusela Diko did not respond to calls and questions on whether the president would meet with Gordhan this week to iron out matters at Eskom.
“We are seeing how divisions in the ANC are infiltrating key institutions such as Eskom. There is no doubt that Eskom will now be used as a political football in the succession debate,” Mathekga said.
He added that going into the new week, Ramaphosa and his deputy should meet to discuss their recent remarks, as none of them have taken the public into their confidence about what was really going on at Eskom.
Gordhan’s office has also been silent on Eskom amid calls by Nehawu for Gordhan to step down.