WEDNESDAY, 30 JANUARY 2008
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                    PROCEEDINGS AT JOINT SITTING
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Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces assembled in the Chamber of the National Assembly at 14:04.

The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

                      CALLING OF JOINT SITTING

The Speaker announced that the presiding officers have called a Joint Sitting in terms of Joint Rule 7(2) for the purpose of debating the current national energy challenges.

                 CURRENT NATIONAL ENERGY CHALLENGES

                      (Subject for Discussion)

The MINISTER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY: Madam Speaker, hon members, Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Speaker, Deputy Chairperson and hon members of the House Happy New Year! As I was sitting there having a moment of silence, my daily prayer went: “Let there be no outages.”

Madam Speaker, let me start by congratulating the former chairperson of the portfolio committee, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, on his new position as the Chief Whip of the Majority Party in Parliament. [Applause.] We appreciate his leadership and guidance during his tenure as our chairperson. Indeed, I must say that we had an excellent comrade or mother-to-son relationship. I also welcome Mr Nqaba Ngcobo as the new chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy. [Applause.] I am looking forward to working with him.

Hon members, over the past two weeks, we have seen unprecedented levels of electricity supply disruptions in South Africa. The questions on the minds of most people is how long this problem is likely to persist and whether enough is being done to resolve it. In some quarters, the sentiment relates mainly to the need to identify the culprits and to castigate them – crucify, crucify, crucify!

At the outset, I must take the opportunity to apologise to all South Africans for the hardships and inconvenience caused by this unfortunate turn of events. I want to reiterate the apologies by our President and our Deputy President respectively in expressing sincere regret.

We would like to thank all South Africans for the overwhelming response to our calls to save electricity. Let me also acknowledge the leadership that the ANC has provided in helping us deal with this national emergency.

Madam Speaker, Chairperson of the NCOP, the main contributing factors to the challenge facing us today, amongst others, are the following: the unprecedented and unanticipated rate at which we are economically growing as a country; and, to a certain extent, the expansion of electricity services to previously unserved areas. This we did in the context of addressing the situation that we find ourselves in, where the majority of our people in this country did not have a very basic service – electricity.

When we took over the country in 1994, growth had stagnated … [Interjections.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: Can I ask the hon Minister a question?

The MINISTER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY: I am not going to take questions now, sir.

The SPEAKER: Okay. She won’t take any questions!

The MINISTER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY: I will take your question when I finish my speech, if you don’t mind.

When we took over in 1994, growth had stagnated with over 3 000 megawatts excess capacity of plant in a mothballed state after they had been decommissioned. Our emphasis as the ANC, in line with our vision, was not only to use the excess supply for growth, but to also turn excess into access for those who needed this basic service.

A legitimate question that always arises is - it arises from all South Africans - why we did not foresee this problem. The major task of the ANC when it took power in 1994 was to revitalise the economy and extend services to the majority of our people. As the Department of Minerals and Energy, which is responsible for the security of supply and energy, we anticipated this current situation.

When we experienced an electricity demand growth of about 3,34% and 7,1% in 2002 and 2003 respectively, projections were revised. It was confirmed that new power generation would be required in 2007 and that this should be peaking plant. In an attempt to address this, we did the following: In September 2003, my department informed Cabinet that South Africa was running out of excess capacity faster than expected and that additional capacity would be required in 2007. The lead time for such projects is approximately three years and therefore a decision was required as soon as possible. Cabinet approval was subsequently acquired for proposals that were geared towards ensuring that South Africa had adequate electricity supply going forward.

The key decisions made by Cabinet included the following: Firstly, Eskom should be instructed to ensure security of supply up to 2007, including the building of new power stations, if necessary, in the short term. Secondly, 70% of new capacity required beyond 2008 would be commissioned by Eskom. For the remaining 30% of required capacity beyond 2008, a process to bring independent power producers, IPPs, into the system would be started in

1. Lastly, Eskom should be instructed to aggressively pursue demand-side management strategies with clearly defined targets.

What happened with the IPPs? There was no appetite in the private sector to invest in capacity generation.

In April 2004, Cabinet took a decision to procure a new peaking plant as the first IPP in South Africa involving Eskom as the sole buyer of power. Cabinet had also approved that, in line with this obligation to supply, Eskom should be instructed to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement or other appropriate agreements with the IPPs, and that there should be no acceptable bids in the IPP process. Eskom should be asked to build the required capacity.

Hon members, there might have been a delay. Government, on a number of occasions through various leaders in government - in the name of the President himself, the Deputy President, the Minister of Public Enterprises, the Minister of Minerals and Energy - has considered that there was a delay. We have even apologised to South Africans. We are responsible enough. We know that we are accountable to our citizens, and we have done so. There might have been a delay, as I have indicated, but there was definitely an attempt to look into the matter. [Interjections.] I have already alluded to the attempts that we made.

There are other factors, hon members. We are part of the global village. That is a fact. Whatever happens in the world will also affect South Africa. Some of the factors that have affected us include a high demand for energy globally. That is a reality. That is the reason why you see China experiencing the same problem in 13 of its provinces. This is because there is a high demand for energy globally. That is a fact. The growth of the economies of India and China has had an impact. That is a fact. [Interjections.] This is not unique to South Africa. This is happening elsewhere in the world. [Interjections.] We have seen a collapse of energy markets in Ontario. We have seen blackouts in the North Eastern United States and Europe. All of these are because we are part of the global village. Brazil has gone through the same experience. So, we had to look at all of these things in addressing this problem.

We have strengthened the White Paper and the national Integrated Energy Plan at policy level. We have also developed a national energy master plan, which Cabinet approved in December last year. Another important policy tool that we put in place last year is the Energy Efficiency Strategy of South Africa that has since enabled the Department of Minerals and Energy to establish the Energy Efficiency Agency, which still needs to be beefed up in order to roll out the Energy Efficiency Campaign.

Hon members, we are all aware that we have a national emergency which calls upon Mr Tony Leon here and everyone of us to contribute towards the management of the situation. We are calling for a partnership between the people of South Africa and government. We have had a series of meetings with stakeholders, including the hon the Leader of the Opposition, who is very supportive of this initiative that we have taken as government – a very positive contribution, unlike these hon members on this side. We have since put together a National Electricity Emergency Programme, which speaks to the supply and demand-side management of the situation.

In our view, the demand-side management can be a quick win because it entails using energy efficiently, and this can be done now, as we speak. One element of the National Electricity Emergency Programme is power rationing. We have already invoked this protocol, where we have called for a 10% reduction of electricity consumption by all sectors. We are looking at banning the manufacturing and usage of incandescent lights. This will give us about 800 megawatts. Of the 10 million homes that are electrified in South Africa, there are eight incandescent lights per household. So, we need to bring this down. We will be promoting that South Africans who can afford to install solar heaters be encouraged to do so. At least the money from your lectures, Mr Tony Leon, will help. You will be able to buy a solar heater. We are looking at smart metering, fuel switching, traffic lights and public lighting, which we will convert to solar power. All of these are work in progress we are working on them.

The hospitality industry is called upon to retrofit and be energy efficient. We also call upon them to convert water-heating to solar power. We will embark on education and public awareness programme, and we will have material in a month’s time. We will also be looking at regulations which only came to force on Wednesday last week.

South Africa’s electricity is known to be the cheapest in the world. We must all brace ourselves for a hike which has been in the pipeline – nothing new is going to be introduced. What is in the pipeline will be introduced as a matter of urgency. [Interjections.]

We are confident that we have the ability to turn the situation around. We reassure the South African community and the world at large that all our projects will be on course, and the 2010 Fifa World Cup is not under threat. [Interjections.]

Hon members, I want to conclude by introducing the following tips. It is a 10-point plan that will go towards changing our behaviour in the consumption of electricity. What I am going to read out are things we can do when we go out of here. These are easy things that we can do when we leave: Switch off the geyser between eleven o’ clock in the morning and six o’clock in the evening, and between nine o’ clock in the evening and five o’ clock in the morning.

All appliances must be switched off … [Interjections.] … at the wall, and not the remote control. We can save about 40 megawatts there. Switch off all lights in the home when not in use and go to bed early so that you can grow … [Laughter.] … and be smart. Boil only as much water in a kettle as is needed. Don’t fill up the kettle when you need only two cups. Use the microwave oven rather than the stove. Use any other alternative energy source for heating and cooking rather than electricity. We are looking at people using gas, wood and so on. [Interjections.]

Take a shower and not a shallow bath. Switch off the lights just like Teddy Pendergrass’ “Turn off the lights”, especially in offices and government offices. They are big culprits. It is mandatory for government buildings, except for security lights, and we want them to switch off between 22h00 and 06h00. While working in your office, use daylight instead of electric light as far as possible, and please open the window rather than use the air conditioner.

This is the 10-point plan – easy to implement. As long as people do not whinge and whine, this can be achieved. We are calling on all of those positive and progressive South Africans to support us. It can be done and we will do it. Thank you very much. [Time expired.]

Ms F I CHOHAN: Madam Speaker, hon members, the load shedding we have all experienced over the last few weeks is, at the very least, irritating, aggravating and frustrating. To some, particularly those who are shift- workers and those who own small businesses, the outages mean the loss of essential income required to make ends meet.

These are the people, and I am sure I can speak on behalf of all of us as public representatives, that we are most concerned for during this time. It is when we remember these people that traffic jams caused by power outages seem easier to bear, and cold, unappetising suppers easier to swallow.

I would like to share with hon members a conversation I had yesterday with the chairman of the Public Utility Commission in the state of Pennsylvania, Mr Wendell F Holland, who is currently visiting South Africa. He is a former judge and the recipient of inter alia the Spirit of Rev Martin Luther King’s Legacy Award in Public Service. He said two things to me which I would like to share with hon members today, because I think that they are quite important. The first thing he said is: What your country is experiencing is not blackouts of the nature of a system’s failure. You are experiencing load shedding, which is an engineering solution to an engineering problem.

He said these are nowhere near the blackouts experienced in some major cities globally. He reminded me of the fact that some major cities were without any power at all for two whole weeks.

He said: If you think people are angry in this country, imagine the rage when the national power grid collapses and people in a major city in America have no power for two weeks without respite.

Load shedding prevents the collapse of the national power grid. It is a preventative intervention; it is, he repeated, an engineering solution to an engineering problem. If we recall … [Interjections.] … if we recall, members, honourable, all of you, the Northwest blackout of 2003, which occurred in parts of Northeastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Ontario in Canada on Thursday, 13 August 2003, affected one third of the population of Canada. It affected 40 million people in eight states in the United States.

Mr A J BOTHA: Let’s get back to South Africa!

Ms F I CHOHAN: The cause of the blackout was the shutting down of 265 power plants, 22 of which were nuclear stations. There was no person in the United States that called it a banana republic.

The incident was referred to as the Power Meltdown 2003. Although more people were affected by blackouts in Italy just six weeks later in that same year, I use this example to highlight that power suppliers in the United States are, in fact, private players, and this idea being mooted by the DA that Eskom should be immediately privatised and we suddenly … [Interjections.] … will see an end to all our woes is a deeply, deeply flawed argument.

The cause of the Power Meltdown 2003 was found to be the first energy corporation’s failure to trim overgrown trees that had come into contact with high-voltage transmission lines as well as a malfunction in the early warning system. Generally, then, the problem was the lack of maintenance. The fallout was huge: transportation failures; communication failures; sewage flowing into the water supplies; Wall Street having to be shut down; the United Nations having to be shut down; 600 subway and railway cars … [Interjections.] … trapped under the stations in Ottawa …

Ms D KOHLER-BARNARD: Talk about South Africa!

Ms F I CHOHAN: … water pumps had to stop working. Emergency services responded to 80 000 calls for help and 3 000 fires were caused, mainly by candles.

Load shedding is an engineering solution to an engineering problem. So says Mr Wendell F Holland, former judge and chair of the Public Utility Commission of the state of Pennsylvania.

The second thing that he said was this, and you would do well to listen: South Africa must, he says, come to the realisation that if Eskom cannot raise loans at reasonable rates, this is not good for any of you.

Mr P J GROENEWALD: Julle moes na ons goeie ingenieurs geluister het! [You should have listened to our excellent engineers!]

Ms F I CHOHAN: Capital markets are the lifeline of utilities like Eskom -

Mr P J GROENEWALD: Julle moes net na ons goeie mense geluister het, dan het dit nie gebeur nie. [You only had to listen to our very efficient people then this would not have happened.]

Ms F I CHOHAN: These markets are highly attuned …

The SPEAKER: Order, hon members, we need to hear what the speaker is saying. [Interjections.]

Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hier het ons Minister ‘n blackout gekry! [Our Minister just had a blackout.]

The SPEAKER: Hon members, please, this is supposed to be a debate. We want to hear what she is saying.

An HON MEMBER: Let’s hear what South Africa says!

Ms F I CHOHAN: These markets are highly attuned to perception and speculation.

The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: I think this matter of members switching on their microphones and then interjecting and heckling has been raised previously in the House. I think that is totally out of order.

The SPEAKER: Will you please switch off your microphone, hon member?

Mr P J GROENEWALD: Mevrou die Speaker, ek vra om verskoning. Ek het nie geweet hy is aan nie, maar ek het hom nie eintlik nodig nie. Dankie. [Madam Speaker, my apologies. I didn’t know that my microphone was switched on, but I do not really need it. Thank you.] Ms F I CHOHAN: It is called “the power of his voice”.

These markets are highly attuned to perception and speculation, Madam Speaker. We must be alive to the perception we create when we make reckless statements. Reckless and hysterical comment harms investors’ confidence and the pliancy of capital markets. [Interjections.]

It is up to us, all of us, as policy-makers to inspire this confidence while not being complacent about any challenges faced by Eskom or any other utility for that matter.

There is much to be confident about. Eskom is one of the top 10 utilities in the world by generating capacity; among the top 11 by sales; and its credit rating is highly placed by international standards.

There have been insinuations and distortions in the media about many things – one of them is in reference to neighbouring countries. Eskom generates approximately 95% of electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of electricity used in Africa. Eskom purchases electricity from neighbouring countries like Mozambique and sells to other neighbouring countries. [Interjections.] I am coming to Zimbabwe. I think you should just listen for a bit.

We were assured in the portfolio committee hearings that customer states are treated like all customers. Some contractual agreements allow Eskom to cease supply during critical periods while other more firm obligations visit the same conditions on customer states as would be experienced by any South African customer. So, if there is load shedding in Cape Town, there will be load shedding in those customer states.

Zimbabwe – you might want to listen now – is indeed a customer, but it is not reneging on its contractual obligations, as some in this House seem to suggest in the media and other places. This morning I again confirmed with the chief executive officer of Eskom that in fact, and to its enormous credit …

HON MEMBERS: We do not believe it!

Ms F I CHOHAN: … You may not believe it, but this is a fact. Zimbabwe prepays for any electricity from Eskom. So, insinuations that Zimbabwe for some reason is being preferred and not paying for electricity we supply to it are mischievous and aimed, frankly, at creating a misapprehension amongst a certain calibre of voter who is still driven by the very firm belief in the “swart gevaar”.

As far as supplying energy to neighbouring countries is concerned, this amounts to approximately 4% of the energy generated and most of this … [Interjections.] … relates to unfirm contractual obligations, which essentially means, in layman’s terms, that when we experience a shortage, we very quickly stop electricity supplies to our neighbours. This no doubt results in enormous hardships for them in those states, and we are fortunate, through the sound management of our bilateral relations, that we still continue to enjoy really good relationships with our neighbours and we do have to thank those countries for their understanding and their sharing of the burden with us at this time.

I have very little time left, Madam Speaker, but let me just say that the issue of skills shortages at Eskom has also been raised. No doubt, with regard to skills shortages, we are generally experiencing those shortages throughout the country, and Eskom, like any other business, will not be immune to these challenges. The current load exercise, however, is hardly due to a lack of skill. It is important that this Parliament, I think, extends its gratitude to those people who operate power stations and the national grid to ensure that during this time of high volume maintenance and high operating demands, they diligently do their jobs.

Finally, I just want to say to members that electricity is generally consumed less than a second after it is produced. The demand load on any power grid must be matched by the supply to it. Any under- or overload to a generator can cause costly damages that are hard to repair to generators, and so the grid is disconnected. To revive the system can take up to six weeks, and I think that is quite important to bear in mind when we use this important commodity during the coming period.

I think that, as South Africans, as the Minister said, a national effort is required. Other countries have done it before: Brazil did it in the 1980s, and there is absolutely no reason why we can’t do it as South Africans. Thank you very much. [Time expired.]

Adv H C SCHMIDT: Madam Speaker, the DA, at a press conference earlier this week, made public its response to the national and continuing energy crisis. We did this not only to provide possible solutions, but, as the official opposition, also to seek accountability for the current national crisis.

The DA’s energy plan has been provided to the hon President by the leader of the DA, Ms Helen Zille. We therefore request the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Sonjica, as well as the hon Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Erwin, to obtain a copy of this document and to consider and study its contents.

The national energy crisis is a reality. It is possibly the single biggest challenge to continued economic growth since 1994. However, it need not be a permanent occurrence.

Five years ago, and in reply to a question by a DA Member of Parliament, the hon Deputy President, in her capacity as Minister of Minerals and Energy, and in a display of arrogance, informed us that South Africa - yes, you’ve guessed it – “would never run out of power”. The result of such arrogance is evident today. In fact, Cabinet’s crucial decision to embark on the arms deal in December 1999, instead of investing in our rapidly deteriorating power-generating capacity, as pointed out in a White Paper of 1998, appears to be one of the most crucial mistakes this government has made.

We are made to understand that international companies as early as 2002 informed Eskom that government’s own projections for the future supply of power was incorrect. Considering that the rate of economic growth, against the backdrop of ageing power stations, would inevitably lead to an electricity crisis, shouldn’t new power stations have been built much earlier?

The mining sector in South Africa continues to be a major driver of economic growth and job creation. Therefore, if the situation is not proactively managed, an industry that contributes, both directly and indirectly, 18% towards our GDP and employs over 400 000 people, will be under threat. This will have disastrous consequences for all South Africans.

Small, medium and large businesses cannot afford to lose even a week’s activity owing to power outages without suffering a reduction in jobs and a severe loss of income. Certainty with regard to load shedding is of utmost importance if businesses are to survive and individual households, old age homes and other entities are to be spared hardships and a negative humanitarian impact.

This crisis has the hallmarks of a government that is uncaring towards its entire people, both rich and poor. The recent apologies by the hon President and Deputy President are noted, but no political leader has, until today, stepped forward to explain the cause, full extent and expected duration of the crisis to the public.

Notwithstanding the frustration and anger of the business fraternity, the public, and everyone else affected by the electricity crisis has, figuratively and literally speaking, been kept in the dark.

When government adopted the White Paper in 1998, it was informed of the impending power crisis and the fact that South Africa would run out of electricity by 2007. Despite this warning, government tried to postpone the inevitable, by attempting to lure private investors to the energy market. This sounds plausible, but, have you asked yourself why any international or local company would invest in power-generation in a country where the returns would arguably be the lowest in the world?

Eskom’s failure to ensure that additional power-generating capacity was built automatically ensured that our electricity was the cheapest in the world.

In addition, the problem seems to be that government did not align its own energy policy to its own economic policy, or was it rather a vote of no confidence in its own economic policy of a 6% targeted growth.

Despite Eskom’s request over time to raise the price of electricity, and so fund new power stations, these requests have been turned down by Nersa, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, following government’s political drive to provide cheap electricity.

As a 100% shareholder in Eskom, government effectively ensured that its monopoly in generation capacity was maintained, to the detriment of the country, with the full knowledge of the Deputy President as well as the former Minister of Minerals and Energy sitting here today. In fact, the hon Deputy President continues to promote Asgisa, the Accelerated Growth Initiative of South Africa, which we all support and which, by necessity, requires an increased demand for electricity, well knowing that we were running out of power.

The hon Minister of Trade and Industry responsible for Eskom, Mr Alec Erwin, knowingly and fully aware of the impending crisis, aided and abetted the introduction of new smelters and energy-intensive users at low prices, which, incidentally, he was not willing to disclose to the public.

It was as much his responsibility as that of the Deputy President to ensure that Cabinet and government were informed at all times about the correct position regarding the supply of the economic lifeline of this country, and to react accordingly. Their failure to have done so leads to no other conclusion than that they were grossly negligent, even reckless, in the exercise of their duties to the public and government at large. It appears that this approach bears resemblance to a Cabinet out of touch with reality and one which is betraying the aspirations of all South Africans systematically, and from crisis to crisis. [Applause.]

The DA therefore calls on the former Minister of Minerals and Energy, currently the Deputy President, as well as the current Minister of Trade and Industry, to resign with immediate effect. [Applause.] Failure to do so places the task to remove them from office on the hon President.

We support the meetings being held between government, big business and Eskom. The DA proposes that government set up a multidisciplinary task team that will meet with industry immediately and on an ongoing basis.

The SPEAKER: Order! On what point are you rising, hon Minister?

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Madam Speaker, I just want to check what planet he’s on. Does he know who the Minister of Trade and Industry is and who the Minister of Public Enterprises is?

The SPEAKER: Clearly he has his facts a bit wrong.

Adv H C SCHMIDT: Well, you know exactly who I’m talking about, hon Minister. It was as much his responsibility as that of the hon Deputy President to ensure that government and Cabinet were informed of the correct position.

We support the meetings held between government and business. Such a task team should include representatives of government, major industry, Eskom and a technical support team that includes independent power producers and other key players in the energy sector.

The more important proposals, which are contained in the DA’s energy plan, deal with the breakdown of the Eskom monopoly. Eskom, by virtue of being determined the sole purchaser of electricity, effectively determines the price at which it wants to enter into a power-purchasing agreement with independent power producers.

As Eskom owns the transmission network, IPPs also need to enter into a commercial agreement with Eskom for the transmission of power generated by them. This enables Eskom to exert undue influence on determining the cost of electricity supply. IPPs are expected to compete with the cost of Eskom’s power-generation whereas Eskom’s capital expenditure for power- generation from the current power stations has virtually been paid for.

A fair regulatory framework and a reasonable rate of return is the basis upon which IPPs will bring the necessary expertise, human resources, operating know-how, risk and operating capital to the immediate aid of the country.

Certain IPPs have already obtained approval from neighbouring countries to proceed with power-generation projects and merely require the signing of a power-purchasing agreement with Eskom to proceed with construction.

As an immediate step, we also propose that Eskom facilitates co-generation of electricity in those instances where companies such as sugar and paper mills can release their excess electricity into the electricity network. This will immediately reduce the most imminent shortage.

We therefore call upon the hon President to ensure that incisive and immediate steps are taken, including the removal of the Deputy President and Minister of Public Enterprises, to restructure the electricity industry without delay, with the required implementation of short-, medium- and long- term solutions. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mrs P DE LILLE: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I notice that many of the members have taken the advice of the Minister to go to sleep early. Can you please rule that it’s not bedtime yet? Thank you.

The SPEAKER: I’m sure the hon members are up by now. Please proceed, hon Singh.

Mr N SINGH: Madam Speaker, on behalf of the IFP, I firstly wish members of this House well for 2008. May the light shine upon you if and when it is available.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Chief Whip on his appointment. He’s a homeboy, and we wish him everything of the best.

Madam Speaker, although it is regrettable and should have been avoided, the energy crisis that is currently gripping our economy and causing so much distress and loss should not come as a surprise. The warning signs have been evident for some time but they were just ignored. Hindsight, they say, is the best sight.

We can say, as the IFP, we told you so, but indeed we did, for our colleague, the hon Lucas, during the Budget Vote debate on 30 May stated that the current situation with regard to electricity supply is a hindrance to growth and is not conducive to investment and, as such, should be addressed urgently. These concerns were unfortunately not addressed.

We are in the middle of a crisis, and our immediate task should be to find practical and workable solutions that can be implemented speedily in order to minimise the damage that has been done thus far, as well as to avoid a repeat of similar incidents in the future.

First, no organisation, be it government or the private sector, can operate optimally if it does not have the necessary skills that are needed to perform its duties. The energy crisis would not have occurred had there been people with the necessary skills in the right positions. Foresight and good planning were needed but were sorely lacking. The principle of the six Ps were not applied: proper prior planning prevents poor presentation.

As the IFP we believe that the human resources available to Eskom should be reviewed immediately. We need to establish whether there are sufficiently trained people with the relevant technical skills available to maintain various power stations. We also need people in management and government who have the ability to forecast and implement plans and monitor progress to ensure that our economic growth and investment are not hampered because the demand for electricity cannot be met. Eskom must embark on a recruitment drive to get enough people with the right skills into key positions.

Secondly, we in South Africa are too reliant on coal for our energy needs and, even here, we have transportation problems and the coal is not transported on time and efficiently to where it is required. We must expand our energy mix to include other energy sources that can supplement and eventually replace coal.

The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor has been on the cards for some time and maybe government needs to invest more money but, having said that, government and agencies need to ensure that the public is fully informed and educated about the benefits of going nuclear and the safety aspects thereof.

Thirdly, while we do acknowledge that it will take time to increase our generating capacity to meet the demands of our economic growth, short-term solutions must be found and implemented in order to try and ease the electricity demand and to get individual households and businesses to use electricity more efficiently.

Government departments and organisations - Madam Minister, you are right - should take the lead in this regard. Solar powered geysers, for example, should be more widely used, and all new government buildings and developments should be equipped to make use of solar power.

Awareness is very important and we believe as the IFP that there should be a high level of incentivisation and subsidisation or even tax relief. Minister Manuel, this must be considered when companies and individuals use alternative energy sources.

We have to accelerate the roll-out of energy-saving bulbs. I think another idea we must investigate is the whole concept of daylight saving. It has worked. I know a company in KwaZulu-Natal that has used it. I spoke to Tony just now and they’ve done very well and they’ve saved electricity.

This debate today is very emotive as the energy crisis affects the lives of most South Africans, if not all. It is understandable that while many South Africans are angry at the inconvenience and losses that this crisis is causing, we, as politicians, must act responsibly and our priority must be to contribute to finding solutions to this problem to try and normalise the situation. No magic wand is going to sort out this problem tomorrow.

We, as representatives of communities and constituencies, must use our positions and exercise our oversight role. To this end, we in the Umzinto constituency have organised two meetings - unfortunately I won’t be here when the Minister replies, because I have to fly back to the meetings - where senior Eskom officials have been invited to address the public on cost-saving measures; what load shedding is all about; how important it is for Eskom to communicate with residents when load shedding is going to take place, and why is it taking place. We don’t want people to be stuck in lifts, there’s claustrophobia and a lack of air. We don’t want people who are on nebulisers to suddenly find nebulisers have gone off. These are practical things that need to be done and they can only be done through communication, communication and communication.

What we believe is that government and Eskom must step up and make sure that they have plans and strategies in place to deal with extra electricity demand, particularly during the winter months.

I would like to emphasise that we are living in a time when climate change and global warming are realities that we have to contend with, so when increasing our generating capacity in the long term, we should keep in mind these two issues.

The thing, Madam Minister and Madam Speaker, is, we must not say, to misquote Shakespeare: “The fault, dear Brutus, lies in the stars but not in ourselves.” The fault lies in ourselves. Certain people have not been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They were not visionary, and we need to sort these people out before it’s too late.

The other point that I want to make because my time is almost up is that you know … Thank you very much. [Time expired.]

Mr G T MADIKIZA: Madam Speaker, Chairperson of the NCOP, hon members, the electricity crisis is a matter of national shame. Eskom and government have given every pessimist and sceptic the ammunition to bad-mouth our country. It must be remembered amongst all this hand-wringing and apologising from the government that at the time of refusing Eskom’s request for investment, Cabinet gave the go-ahead for the arms deal. The warped priorities of a decade ago are now coming home to roost. How many more times must the nation pay in taxes and embarrassment and lost international confidence?

We note the latest reasons, excuses and promises regarding the electricity crisis emanating from Eskom and government. The story keeps changing and new promises are offered, but the only constant is a deepening electricity crisis.

We need an independent enquiry manned by a panel of experts – which is not beholden to Eskom or government – to investigate and identify the real problems and reasons for this crisis. We need answers so that we can fix the problem.

Let this disaster be a lesson for us about the dangers of monopolies. Let us not wait for the same problem to happen with Telkom or the liquid fuels industry. Competition brings efficiency, and does not allow decay to progress this far before action is taken. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr E N N NGCOBO: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers - in particular Minister of Public Enterprise and the Minister of Minerals and Energy - please allow me first also to echo the sentiments of the previous speakers in congratulating our new Chief Whip of the Majority Party, hon Nathi Mthethwa. But also allow me to thank the Ministers for Public Enterprises and the Minister of Minerals and Energy as well as the Chief Whip for making this occasion a success by reconvening us in order to really ventilate our feelings about what is happening in the country in terms of the energy crisis.

Energy is crucial to the economic progress and social development of nations. The development of new technologies and emergence of new production process during the 19th and 20th centuries enabled an increase in productivity through the substitution of mechanical power for human and animal power. This in turn led to unprecedented economic growth and improved living standards as well as, of course, large increases in energy consumption.

In addition, electrification has played a pivotal role in social development and welfare by making possible greater access to information via radio and television, providing a cleaner and more efficient means of storing and preparing food and controlling enclosed environments to provide warmth and cooling. In the industrialised society of the twenty-first century, energy is necessary in order that modern economic activity would not cease and modern standards of living would not diminish.

Due to the importance of energy to economic and social progress, it is difficult to separate an input on energy demand from energy policy. In fact, a recurring theme in energy economies in general has been that of energy security. According to Bohi, Toman and Walls, energy security refers to loss of economic welfare that may occur as a result of a change in the price of availability of energy. And this suggests a close link between energy and economy.

Thus projections of energy demand are necessary to develop national energy policies aimed at minimising exposure to international price fluctuations and maximising energy availability. On a less global scale, projections of energy demand are also important to the development of corporate business plans and the establishment of operational parameters for public utilities such as the Eskom of our country that must develop strategies to fulfil public service obligations.

Thus the modelling and projection of energy demand is very important in the formation of policy in general at both national and local levels as well as in the private sector. Sound energy policy must be predetermined by an adequate understanding of the economies of energy. The projections of energy are generally concerned with the manner in which both non-renewable and renewable energy resources are allocated over time and across space. A resource is considered non-renewable when the sum over time of the services it provides is finite or at least not replaceable in a reasonable time frame. Hence, energy economists have been largely concerned hitherto with the allocation of non-renewable resources simply because global energy consumption has consisted largely of the consumption of fossil fuels.

There have been numerous classic papers as well as theoretical studies of optimal depletion rates associated with pricing rules given different sets of assumptions as well as empirical studies designed to test such theories. In all these assumptions and theories there has been an apparent disregard for the impact of still underappreciated factors such as technological change in the extractive industry, development of lower cost alternatives, an expansion of resource base through exploration activities, influenced predictions by many scholars and industry analysts in the late 1970s and early 1980s that oil prices would top US$100 per barrel by 2000.

Therefore, it is very important at this juncture that part of the problem, apart from increasing energy input, is to look at this element technological parameter, where in fact the human capital factor, in terms of skills development and the full utilisation of existing talents, comes in.

In a nutshell, if these above-mentioned observations and international experiences can be taken on board by our public utilities in collaboration with the Department of Minerals and Energy as well as Parliament, over and above what our ANC-led Cabinet has recommended to our society as a 10 point plan to save energy, we will again emerge as a winning nation ready to host the 2010 World Cup with the expected success. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr L W GREYLING: The ID shares the outrage of millions of South African citizens who have been severely affected by our country’s electricity blackouts. The cost to our economy is immense and, despite the hon Minister Erwin’s ludicrous statement to the contrary, our economic growth will undoubtedly be negatively affected over the long term.

Our economy has been built around the premise of cheap and reliable electricity, but through government negligence this has now been destroyed in a space of only a few years. Last week the mines were forced to shut down for the first time in our country’s history with estimated losses of over R1 billion. This equals a loss of R300 million in tax revenue, the annual budget of three large hospitals.

Service delivery, the poor and workers will be made to suffer most due to this blunder on the part of government. Despite this, though, President Thabo Mbeki has still not fired a single Minister of his Cabinet for this debacle, making it a mockery of political accountability.

It is unthinkable to the ID that a Deputy Minister can be fired for allegedly taking an unauthorised overseas trip, but no Minister is sanctioned for creating this energy and economic crisis.

This self-imposed electricity crisis does, however, force us to look for opportunities. The ID was the first political party to put forward its solutions to this crisis which, we believe, must be used as an opportunity to kick-start a renewable energy industry in South Africa.

The ID has been arguing about this for over three years now and we hope that the government will finally pursue this with the urgency it requires. Firstly, we must actually roll out solar water heaters instead of just talking about subsidies. This can be a great Public Works scheme as thousands of people will have to be trained to install these in households.

Secondly, the Minister must immediately announce feeding tariffs for renewable energy producers and scale up the target for renewable energy. This will create the certainty that the producers need to invest in this market.

Finally, we should take all the energy efficiency funds out of Eskom and place them in the National Energy Efficiency Agency, where they rightfully belong.

The ID is committed to finding sustainable solutions to these crises and we will certainly play our part in uniting the nation around a common goal of energy efficiency. In doing this, however, we demand that government plays its part in enforcing political accountability for this crisis. I thank you.

Rev K R J MESHOE: Chairperson, the ACDP welcomes this special sitting to discuss the power crisis that faces our nation. We agree that the people who got us into this mess should be called to account. The spectacular gains we have achieved in economic growth as well as the target to halve unemployment and poverty are now under serious threat. We need openness and transparency.

The Minister for Public Enterprises must take full responsibility for the current electricity crisis and do the honourable thing by resigning for failing in his duties, which include ensuring that Eskom has sufficient reserves to meet the increased demand for power.

The former Eskom CEO and the incumbent must also join the Minister and resign for failing to take the public into their confidence when government did not heed their warnings.

Government should not make the poor and vulnerable suffer for their short- sightedness; they must be prepared to subsidise paraffin and gas that are used during blackouts because they refused to act when they were warned about the looming crisis 10 years ago.

Eskom bonuses this year would be scandalous, unjust and insensitive as businesses and individuals are losing millions every day.

The ACDP believes now is the time for government to end Eskom’s monopoly and encourage the private sector to help provide alternative sources of power to alleviate the current crisis. We believe that such competition would bring down the cost of power and give consumers a choice of where to buy electricity.

According to leading economists, government’s 6% growth target seems to be a pipe dream and will be almost impossible to achieve due to the lack of power capacity. Investor confidence has also been struck a severe blow. As stated in the Financial Mail, the blackouts have highlighted the acute shortage of skills and resources to drive South Africa’s R420 billion infrastructure plan.

Energy is a critical issue internationally, as well as for South Africa, for the economy to grow. Government must not downplay the seriousness and impact of the acute electricity shortages.

The Minister of Energy was quoted as having said: “There is no need to panic about future investments, as has been alluded by some.”

We have a serious crisis before us. The ACDP therefore calls for a national disaster fund to cushion the losses that will be suffered by some businesses, particularly small businesses.

Last year, members will recall that some were upset when I stated that if we did not deal with crime, hosting the 2010 World Cup might slip through our fingers. The energy crisis presents yet another serious challenge to our hosting of the 2010 World Cup. Already tourism authorities are cautioning that continuing blackouts will discourage tourists from attending the World Cup as hotels, restaurants and transport will be affected.

In view of this crisis, this is a very real threat to a successful Soccer World Cup. Parliament must ensure that all government departments work together with industry and the private sector to ensure security of our energy needs and each one of us must do our best to save electricity. To assist with demand side management, we as South Africans need to pull together and cut down on our consumption. We fully support measures to reduce consumption such as those used in Brazil and China.

We need a switch to energy-efficient lighting and to solar and gas for heating and cooking. We use a huge amount of electricity for lighting and need to roll out energy saving fluorescent light bulbs. We need incentives for energy saving as well and a highly visible and wide-reaching communications campaign which will be advising on how to save power. In the meantime we will be faced with load shedding. As the Financial Mail stated last week, managing power cuts should not be … [Time expired.]

Dr P W A MULDER: Chairperson, hon members, are you scared you’ll lose your job? Don’t worry. There is a job and a career where you’ll never be fired. If only you could become an ANC cabinet Minister, you may make mistakes just as you please – the President will not fire you.

If a Minister in any other country takes decisions that cost the country up to R650 billion in a matter of days and which brings the whole economy to a complete standstill, he would immediately be fired. But it doesn’t happen in South Africa. The FF Plus says that the responsible Ministers, including the directors and senior officials of Eskom, should be fired, given the crisis they caused.

Section 424 of the Companies Act provides that directors and officers must not carry out the business of a company recklessly or fraudulently. Persons who are knowingly party to the business being carried out in this manner will personally be liable for the company’s liabilities and will also be guilty of a criminal offence.

The FF Plus is investigating the possibility of taking appropriate action against the directors and senior officers of Eskom, specifically in connection with Coega, and that is a long story.

Wat sê die mense vir my? En hulle bel my mal. Hulle vra dat die regering en Eskom nie vir hulle moet jok nie. Wees eerlik met ons. Moenie ons IK onderskat of stories vertel soos ek vandag gehoor het nie. Vertel aan ons die waarheid en ons sal saam help om die probleem op te los want ons is saam in die moeilikheid.

Ek stel aan, die Minister so ‘n paar vrae: Is dit só dat nie ’n enkele een van Eskom se steen-koolkragstasies op die oomblik sy volle kapasiteit elektrisiteit lewer nie? Is dit só dat amper 6 000 Mw verlede week nie opgewek kon word nie as gevolg van foute by kragstasies, foute as gevolg van swak instandhouding en onervare personeel? Volgens my inligting was 9 000 MW van Eskom se krag verlede week nie beskikbaar nie. Daarvan is 3 000 beplande instandhouding, wat ons verstaan, maar amper 6 000 was as gevolg van onbeplande foute. Hoe verklaar ’n mens dit dat daar in Januarie vanjaar skielik meer kragonderbrekings is as in die hele jaar verlede jaar?

Ek sê die regering se swak beplanning gaan ons vang, maar oor die langer termyn. Dit verklaar nie waarom in Desembermaand daar genoeg krag was en skielik in Januarie te min nie. Die skielike tekort, wat my betref, wat nou gebeur het moet aan swak bestuur, swak instandhouding en oorhaastige regstellende aksie toegeskryf word. Die rekord kraggebruik in die winter was 36 000 MW. Ons het nou maar 33 000 nodig, baie minder, en ons kan nie daarby kom nie.

Die Ministers se planne skiet tekort deurdat dit die publiek en die nywerhede verder belas met rantsoene en strafmaatreëls en dit is ongelukkig nie prakties nie. Hoe gaan jy dit prakties toepas? Ons sal nou moet geiserpolisie en ligvervangingspolisie aanstel om die maatreëls te kan toepas. Daarom is die VF Plus besig om ’n taakspan van kundiges saam te stel om te help met oplossings. Ons aanvaar die Ministers is so diep in die moeilikheid dat hulle hopelik ernstig na ons voorstelle sal luister om ons almal uit hierdie probleem uit te kry. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[What are the people saying to me? And they are phoning me like crazy. They ask that the government and Eskom not lie to them. Be honest with us. Do not underestimate our IQ or tell stories such as those I have heard today. Tell us the truth and we will work together to solve the problem, as we are all in this predicament together.

I would like to ask the Minister a couple of questions: Is it true that not even one of Eskom’s coal power stations is delivering electricity at full capacity at the moment? Is it true that nearly 6 000 Mw could not be generated last week because of faults at power stations, faults because of poor maintenance and inexperienced personnel? According to my information, 9 000 MW of Eskom’s power was not available last week. Of that 3 000 was due to planned maintenance, which we understand, but 6 000 was the result of unplanned faults. How does one explain that there were suddenly more power cuts in January this year than there were in the entire year last year?

I say that the government’s bad planning is going to catch up with us, but in the longer run. It does not explain why there was enough power in December but all of a sudden too little in January. The sudden shortage, as far as I am concerned, that has occurred now can be attributed to poor management, poor maintenance and overhasty affirmative action. The record power consumption in winter was 36 000 MW. We now only need 33 000, which is much less, and we cannot meet that demand.

The Ministers’ plans fall short as they burden the public and the industries with further rations and punitive measures and unfortunately they are not practical. How are you going to implement then in practice? We will now have to appoint police to monitor geyser usage and light bulb replacement to be able to enforce the measures. That is why the FF Plus is busy putting together a task team of experts to help with solutions. We assume that the Ministers are so deep in trouble that they will hopefully listen to our suggestions seriously to get us all out of this dilemma. I thank you.]

Ms N D NTWANAMBI: Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, comrades and hon members, today’s debate is not meant for those who have long fingers; those who only blame government without assisting.

South Africans must know that we care and we are concerned, and that is the reason the debate was organised today.

To those who are affected, I want to say …

Nyamezelani, izinto seziza kulunga. Ndiyazi ukuba indlela ohamba ngayo lo mbane yenza ukuba ibe ngathi ngabantu abangathathi ntweni abachatshazelwa kakhulu kukuhamba kwayo, ngoba uhamba ixesha elide kwelinye icala, uhambe ixesha elifutshane kwelinye.

Eyona nto ibalulekileyo nefunwa ngabantu kukuba baziswe ukuba kuza kuphungulwa nini, phi, ukusetyenziswa kombane, le nto kuthiwa yi-load shedding, ukuze abantu bakwazi ukuzilungiselela. Siyazi ukuba ingxaki ikhona, kwaye asiyibaleki ke thina ingxaki. Asina minwe ikhombayo xa kukho ingxaki; siyayijonga, siyibambe ngeempondo ukuze sikwazi ukuyilungisa ingxaki.

Ngakho oko, ndifuna ukutsho kubantu bethu ekuhlaleni ukuba mabancedisane norhulumente. Mabangakhanyisi kumagumbi apho kungekho mntu khona. Kwaye kufuneka siqinisekise ukuba iiplagi zethu zisemgangathweni. Ngokwenjenjalo, umntu ulungiselela ukuba angabi neendleko ezixhomileyo embaneni.

Kwakhona, kufuneka sithathe uxanduva lokuxelela uCeba weWadi okanye sithethe noomasipala xa izibane ezitalatweni zihlala zikhanyisile imini nobusuku. Yenye yeendlela zokonga umbane ke leyo. Lo ngumba esicela ukuba ungaqwalaselwa nje emakhaya, koko naziinkonzo ezi zethu. Uya kufika isakhiwo senkonzo sisakhanyisile namhlanje, ukususela izolo, de iphele iveki. Masiwonge sonke umbane.

Le yimfundo esifuna ukuba isiwe ezantsi kubantwana ezikolweni, kubantu ekuhlaleni nakubantwana jikelele. Njengomntu ofunde ezilalini, xa igumbi eli lokufundela lipeyintwe ngombala omhlophe, kukhanya kwelo gumbi sewungekho umbane. Yenye yezinto ekufanele siziqaphele ke leyo.

Enye indlela yokukhawulelana norhulumente kule ngxaki kukuba sonke sizame ukuqinisekisa ukuba asiwenzi umba wokukhankasela iivoti lo. Ukuba bakhe bayiqala loo nto abantu abafana noTat’ uMeshoe, baya kuyazi ukuba siyavuthulula thina; mabangayiqalisi loo nto.

Futhi, njengoko size apha namhlanje, size kuthetha nabantu bakuthi; size kubaxelela ukuba mabaqaphele ukuba urhulumente okhoyo uthe xa esakha izindlu, wanika abantu izindlu ezinombane. Njengomntu waseGugulethu, umbane unokuba ufike ngo-1981 ekhaya, ngokusuka sizifakele, hayi ngoncedo lukarhulumente. Ngoko mawuqatshelwe umahluko phakathi korhulumente wangoku, norhulumente owaye kho ngaphambili, owayengena nkathalo ebantwini. [Kwaqhwatywa.]

Enye into, kwakuye kufuneke ukuba kule madlana uyifumanayo, uphinde uhlawule urhulumente ukuze akuzisele le nkonzo. Kodwa ngoku sithetha ngorhulumente okwakhela indlu enombane, owufumana felefele.

Eyona nto ibalulekileyo nephikwayo ngabantu abaninzi abalapha endlwini, aba ke baziimfama, kukuba uqoqosho luhlumile kwaye lusahluma. Iinkonzo zona zazilungiselelwe abantu abambalwa. Abantu abaninzi, nooTat’ uMeshoe aba, babengenawo umbane. Abantu bakuthi baqale sekukudala abanye bacofa incukuthu eludongeni.

Yenye yemiceli-mngeni urhulumente ajongene nayo ke leyo, kwaye akakhange athi: “Ndiyayibaleka le ngxaki sikuyo”. Endaweni yoku urhulumente uthe: “Nazi izinto. Yintoni esingayenza, sisonke, ukuqinisekisa ukuba wonke umntu uyazifumana iinkonzo zikarhulumente, ngakumbi umbane ngoba siwubonile indlela obaluleke ngayo? U-Eskom uyiqalile inkqubo yokwambathisa iigiza zethu. Thina sifuna ukuhlaba ikhwelo kubo bonke oomasipala, lokuba mabancedisane no-Eskom ukwenzela ukuba sikwazi ukonga umbane. Le nto ndiyitsho kuba ngo-2006, umbutho olawulayo kwiSixeko saseKapa wayenza yayingxaki ye-ANC ingxaki yombane. Andazi ukuba yingxaki kabani na ke namhlanje, ngoba bayalawula.

Abantu abanamaxhala ngokubhekisele kwimidlalo yango-2010 mabaphole, kwaye iinkonzo ezingxamisekileyo aziyi kuchaphazeleka, ngakumbi izibhedlele. Into ebalulekileyo kukuba abantu xa besebenzisa eli qonga, mabalisebenzisele ukuxelela abantu inyani, bangabalahlekisi abantu.

Okokugqibela, ndifuna ukuthi abantu bakuthi mabangalahli ithemba kuba ubomi obungcono kumntu wonke yeyona nto lo rhulumente asazibophelele kuyo. Kwabo umbane ungekafiki kubo, thina siyazi ukuba umbane uyeza.

Mandishiye lo myalezo, wokuba apha endlwini kukho iimfama ngokwengqondo. Ndifun’ ukucela uQabane, uMphathiswa wezeziMali uTrevor Manuel noMphathiswa uMandisi Mphahlwa ukuba bavule amehlo aba bantu ndithetha ngabo, ngoba abakaboni kakuhle. Bayawafunda amagama, kodwa abawazisi ebuchotsheni ukuze akwazi ukutolikeka kakuhle ngokubhekisele kwindlela urhulumente asebenza ngayo ukuzisa impucuko apha eMzantsi Afrika. Enkosi kakhulu. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.) [Have patience, things will be alright. I know that the way the electricity goes makes people think that it is only the indigent who are affected by power cuts, because in certain places power cuts last longer than in other places.

What is important, and the people need is to be informed about when and where load shedding will take place so that they can prepare themselves. We know there is a problem and we do not run away from problems. We do not point fingers when there is a problem; we look at it, and grab it by the horns so that we can solve the problem.

I would like to ask people in the community to assist the government. They must not switch on the lights in unoccupied rooms. We also have to make sure that we have quality plugs. By doing so, a person avoids exorbitant spending on electricity.

Furthermore, we have to take the responsibility of informing the ward councillors or talk to the municipality when street lights remain on day and night. It is one of the ways of preserving electricity. This is a matter, we request, that should not only be observed in homes but by our service providers too. You will find municipal buildings with lights on today, since yesterday, that stay on until the end of the week. Let us all preserve electricity.

This is the type of education that has to be transmitted down to the children at school and in general as well as to the community. As someone who was schooled in rural areas, I know that when a classroom is painted white it stays bright even without electricity. It is one of the things of which we have to take notice.

One other way of meeting government halfway in this problem is for all of us to make sure that this matter does not become a campaign for votes. If they can start that, people like Rev Meshoe will know that we are invincible; let them not start that.

The reason why we have come here today is to talk to our people. We have come to tell them that they should be aware that the present government, when deciding to build houses, gave people electrified houses. I come from Gugulethu, and in 1981, our community organised itself to have electricity installed in our area, without government’s assistance. Therefore, let the difference be noticed between the present government and the government we had in the past, which did not care about the people. [Applause.]

The little money that you got had to pay for the services that government provided you. Now we are talking about a government that builds you an electrified house and you get electricity free of charge.

The most important thing that is denied by a lot of people in the House, those who are blind, is that the economy has grown, and is still growing. Municipal services were delivered to a few. Many people, including the likes of Rev Meshoe, had no electricity. Our people pressed buttons on their walls long after others had started doing so.

These are some of the challenges government faces, and government did not say: “I am running away from the problem that we are facing.” Instead, government said: “Here are services. What can we do together to make sure that all people receive government services, more especially electricity, because we have realised how important it is?”

Eskom has started a programme of reducing the consumption impact of our geysers. We want to raise a clarion call to all municipalities that they must work in close co-operation with Eskom to preserve electricity. I am saying this because in 2006 the governing party in the Cape Town district made the electricity crisis an ANC problem. I do not know whose problem it is today because they are governing.

People who have anxieties with regard to the 2010 games must relax. Essential services, especially hospitals, will not be affected. What is important is that people must use this platform to tell people the truth and not mislead them.

Lastly, I want to say our people must not lose hope because a better life for all is the main thing this government is committed to. To those who have not accessed electricity yet, we know electricity is still coming.

This is the message I would like to leave, namely that in the House there are people who are mentally challenged. I want to ask Comrade Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel and Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to open the eyes of the people I am talking about because they have poor eyesight. They read words but they do not read them with the necessary comprehension to help them correctly interpret the way government works to bring civilisation to South Africa. Thank you very much. [Applause.]]

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Chairperson and hon members, we have noted what the Minister of Minerals and Energy said. However, we have these views to put across.

In the mid-1990s, retired Judge Rex van Schalkwyk wrote a book entitled One miracle is not enough. In that book, the learned judge chronicles all the failures of the ANC and SACP government. As early as the mid-1990s, he could already foresee that things were not all going to go well.

As far back as then, he noted the alarming lapse in public morality. With this mess of the power failures, political leaders worth their salt would resign, especially having been advised seven years ago. Political leaders with a measure of ethics would step down on their own, but we know that in South Africa politicians remain in office until they are locked up.

We have heard so many speeches from this podium … [Interjections.] Then you have copied the wrong thing! We have heard so many speeches from this podium and elsewhere stating that, since 1994, more houses and even informal settlements have electricity. That is very true. New developments have been put up, but no effort was made to ensure that the source of electricity is extended to cope with the new demand. This is absurd as even an illiterate man would know that if you have a loaf of bread and an additional child comes along, you need to have more bread.

This has never occurred to the all-knowing ANC government. It is not surprising, however, as almost all state institutions have collapsed under the ANC. The Land Bank is a shadow of its former self. The security forces are at one another’s throats, spying on each other. The ANC government put all its energy in transformation, and relegated delivery to the background. We saw Eskom bosses replacing most of their qualified and experienced staff with inexperienced and inappropriately qualified people. This resulted in load shedding, a euphemism for power failure.

There is no doubt that those in power have become our greatest liabilities. Simply saying sorry is not enough, especially after having been advised seven years ago. We notice that the government has always gone out of its way to be critical of even referring to the past, as is happening now, while they, in their turn, do not do very well. Their obsession is with rededicating, reconstructing, renaming and replacing people in jobs instead of being creative and innovative.

It is best to conclude by quoting Judge van Schalkwyk once more, when he said:

In reality, we are probably the most unequal, the most endangered, the most stressed, the most abused and least well governed of all countries that presume to call themselves democratic.

This country deserves better treatment in respect of being taken seriously and being provided with services, especially when people come up with proposals. [Applause.]

Ms S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, I bring greetings to all of you from the MF.

The MF urges that we immediately get rid of Eskom’s monopoly, which started in the 1980s, and our current government has maintained this monopoly by not providing for infrastructure. We should look at countries such as India, which serves as a good example, where private firms such as Reliance and SATA are electricity providers.

Government has foolishly waited for private enterprises, but this never transpired. We need to invite the Chinese and Indian private enterprises into our country. We need to allow the major municipalities to own their power stations.

With load shedding, the first load that government must shed are members of Eskom. Furthermore, we need to invest in the local manufacturing of gas stoves and power generators at affordable rates accessible to our people. We need to realise the severity of our dependency upon electricity and the seizure that takes place in every corner of South Africa when our power is turned off.

The suggested quota system for power usage may appear attractive as a short- term solution, but the reality is that we are hugely dependent on electricity, and that middle-class homes are mostly operational in the evenings. We need to earnestly look at reinstalling the power houses that were closed down at the birth of democracy. We need to generate revenue, subsidise this, and realise that while the costs in doing so may appear heavy, in the long term, the nation, its economy and employment shall be serviced.

However, if raising revenue for this is minimal, we should perhaps look at partially privatising Eskom, opening roads for the private sector to invest in power generation by both national and international investors.

It is senseless looming between what we could have done when we need to address a shortfall by introducing a solution that shall, in the long term, remove the shortfall and still allow us to progress as a Third World country.

I leave the podium with the question: If we are to introduce quotas as a solution, how do we monitor and measure the limits of usage that is individually needed by each household? Is this not contrary to the policy of basic electricity and power, and is this not then contrary to the human rights listed in the Constitution?

The electorate has elected us, and today we stand in this august House and say that we should not shout at each other. Let’s put our heads together and find a solution to the problems. Thank you.

Ms J L FUBBS: Hon Chairperson, hon members of this House, and indeed all of us in our country who are affected by what our ANC government has called ``a national electricity emergency’’, rich and poor, together find themselves on this rare occasion facing the challenges generated by this emergency. Indeed, the rich are learning, - learning what it is like to live without electricity, and the challenges that the poor so frequently face. [Interjections.]

Indeed, our ANC government has called upon the whole of South Africa, all South Africans, to work together as one nation, one people, to overcome this emergency. As one people and one nation, we are poised to show the world that, just as we built a people’s participatory democracy rising from the political ashes of a racist regime, so too can we rise above this current challenge, this emergency that is affecting people, including yourselves, members of this House. [Interjections.] Yes.

This can only be achieved if we rise above this. I pause here so that we may all listen. If we rise above partisan politics, as indeed some members of the opposition have chosen to do … [Interjections.] No, we cannot afford to undermine the national community wheel.

E, matla a sechaba! [Yes, power to the nation!]

In an opportunistic shot across the bows of a bridge, what we are calling for is for large business – we are encouraging them – to build bridges between themselves and small business. [Interjections.] We are encouraging people and communities, with the same spirit that prevailed in 1994 – unless you thought it was drivel then – to rise above that, as they did in 1994, and to be persuaded to pool their efforts and share their ideas. [Interjections.] In an individual challenge, may I say that those who choose to take part in the triathlon had better get a little bit more exercise? [Interjections.]

In keeping with the spirit of the Freedom Charter, we, the ANC members of this House, call on all hon Members of Parliament to pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage until we have achieved the objective set out in the National Electricity Emergency Programme. [Interjections.]

Indeed, this electricity emergency extends beyond our borders. [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Order! Let’s give the member a chance to put her case, please.

Ms J L FUBBS: Die elektrisiteitskrisis strek wyer as ons land se grense tot by ons buurlande, wat ‘n integrale deel vorm van ons sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling. [The electricity crisis extends way beyond our country’s borders as far as our neighbouring states, which form an integral part of our socioeconomic development.]

Indeed, our fight against poverty is one of the three pillars on which we are building a developmental state. The other two are broadly sustainable economic development and human capital investment. The imperative, then, as we face this national electricity emergency, is to identify the human capital opportunities. Alternative energy resources, as we’ve heard from so many other informed speakers and experts, are solar, sugar, and indeed wind. I believe the City of Cape Town itself is involved in that area, purchasing it from Darling. We need to grab these opportunities and, as business and government, implement them.

However, we cannot ignore the backlog of inadequate investment in economic infrastructure over decades. [Interjections.] Unfortunately, we are pitting ourselves, in 10 years, 14 years, against 40 years, and together, we can do this. Electricity generation capacity and the identification of alternative energy resources require that we work together. History will surely condemn those who abdicate their duty and their obligation to the people of South Africa. [Interjections.]

Hon members, for those who have ears to listen, the role of reconciliation was to heal, to build one nation, but it was also to enable South Africans to work together to serve the people. The ANC is aware that all measures to overcome the electricity challenge will have to ensure that the objective of improving social development, which is essential but not sufficient, continues.

In this way, we can engender a people’s platform for participation and economic processes. Indeed, I expect, if you like, the term ``window dressing’’ is more suited to those who have a cosmetic approach to this. [Interjections.] Yes, part of Eskom’s challenge is related to a critical skills crisis, but I remind certain members of this House that it was not and is not unique to South Africa. It was identified in Canada, Brazil, Chile and California, all of whom have very different political systems and demographic profiles. The challenge for the critical skills crisis is to invest in human capital. We have also heard that Eskom, too, would need to do this.

On 8 January – for those of course who had recovered from their spiritual spree in the holidays – the ANC President, Jacob Zuma, called on all of us to commit ourselves to mass mobilisation. [Interjections.] Let it be the mass mobilisation of transformed mind-sets, fresh mind-sets that will assimilate the structural challenges in this national emergency.

President Thabo Mbeki, leading our ANC government, has called upon citizens to become part of the national movement to conserve electricity in the residential areas and workplaces while ensuring that the key functions in our society – health, water, safety and security – are not compromised. Hon Chairperson, I would hope that for the majority of the members in this House, January 2008 will live forever in our minds as the month that we, the people of South Africa, put aside our political partisan differences and worked together to overcome the national emergency … [Interjections.] … and, in so doing, developed a fresh source of national unity that will create a powerful people’s platform on which to consolidate our achievements.

I say to the people of South Africa, the majority of whom who do want to work together, let us work together. Phambili, South Africa, phambili! [Forward, South Africa, forward!] [Applause.]

Dr S E M PHEKO: Mr Chairman, we can no longer boast about our leadership as a nation on the African continent if we do not find ways of utilising renewable energy sources and alternatives such as solar energy, wind turbines and biofuels. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It is rather transformed. We are continually changing one form of energy into another. It is amazing to ponder that although energy changes form, the amount of energy in the universe will always remain constant.

Two of the world’s largest solar manufacturers are Japanese: Sharp and Kyocera. In Japan the solar industry has an annual growth rate of more than 30%, and Japan is driving down costs and creating new jobs. Every time the demand for solar energy doubles, the price comes down by about 20%. In 1976 solar panels cost about $100 per watt, but by 1986 the cost had dropped to $10 per watt. Today it is $3 per watt and falling.

With all the sunshine available in our beautiful land, why is South Africa not developing solar energy to mitigate the present electricity crisis?

The electricity crisis in our country is more than just concerns about the 2010 Fifa games or foreign investor confidence. The implications go beyond candlelight suppers and extra blankets on beds. The lack of reliable power has already begun to hamper Southern Africa’s regional development and is clipping more than 2% off the expected annual economic growth rate.

The electricity crisis is a major rural and urban issue, with many implications for the poor African majority and the elderly. For them it is development delayed, employed delayed and diminished, and food security delayed. The electricity crisis threatens to entrench poor health care in many hospitals where the African majority is treated. Those expecting to go into theatre for major surgery will delay this at a cost to their very lives. Our education is already at crisis point. Learners studying by candlelight do not advance the matric results. Thank you very much. [Time expired.]

Mr L M GREEN: Chairperson, hon Ministers and members, the financial director of Eskom, Bongani Nqwababa, said, and I quote:

South African business cannot plan or implement any major new energy- consuming projects until 2013.

Topco Media, an excellent publishing company in Cape Town, is planning an Africa energy summit in Johannesburg on 18 and 19 March 2009, and this is their response to Eskom’s statement on the energy crisis, and I quote:

This is an unthinkable scenario that would derail not only the South African economy but the society that is dependent on it. It means that current levels of poverty and unemployment - already catastrophic - would significantly worsen. It could also mean that the government would have to reschedule foreign debt. It has the potential to cause civil unrest, it will encourage the flight of skills, it will demoralise the nation’s citizenry, and it will damage - probably irreparably - South Africa’s status as a destination for foreign fixed investment.

We cannot let this happen, and we cannot accept Eskom’s doomsday warning. We need to talk, we need to talk urgently, and we need to take decisive, far-reaching action.

Government has admitted responsibility for the current energy crisis sweeping through our country, and we say that is commendable. This admission is met, however, with a wave of anger, frustration and disillusionment across the nation, and people are demanding change to the ongoing underachievement in services they have to contend with.

In 1994 we experienced a change from divide and rule. We are now once again faced with another opportunity to initiate change, that is, we urgently need customary change in the way we have governed the resources of this country over the past few years.

Eskom is the most devastating example thus far of the level to which public services have been eroded. Eskom’s debacle provides further support to a recent survey, done by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, which found that there was a steady decline of public trust in our democratic institutions and political leadership. There is no better time than now for change in the administration of these organs of state and parastatals that undermine public trust and the stability of our democracy.

A recent electronic poll conducted by Carte Blanche during a broadcast on the energy crisis shows that an overwhelming majority of over 90% of the public have no faith in Eskom to rectify the problem. The public’s despair may be based on the economic gloom facing us as a result of the energy crisis. Economists predict that our growth prospects may struggle to rise above 3%-4%, instead of the 6% touted. This is our Kairos moment – a change for leadership with a heart for people and a mind for good governance. I thank you.

Mr S SIMMONS: Madam Deputy Speaker, when confronted with problems as huge as this, the exploration of solutions is a given. It is interesting that most of the solutions have for some time now been vigorously debated in various forums, and most of the answers are therefore there. One should, however, in the interests of long-term solutions, examine the underlying causes of the problem faced, to ensure the problem is avoided in future.

Die eerste van twee redes vir hierdie situasie kan ongetwyfeld toegeskryf word aan ideologiese verknogtheid. Dit gee aanleiding tot besluitneming en optrede wat totaal en al uit voeling met die werklikheid is. Vandaar die ignorering van waarskuwings agt jaar gelede! (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[The first of two reasons for this situation can undoubtedly be attributed to ideological attachment. This leads to decision-making and actions that are completely out of touch with reality; hence the warning eight years ago was ignored!]

It is therefore imperative that we see a change in attitude, allowing decision-makers to start listening and seriously take to heart advice and guidance from others long before the challenges become a crisis.

Die tweede wat hiermee gelyk staan, is Eskom se hantering van sy transformasiebeleid. [The second, which is on par with the first, is Eskom’s handling of its transformation policy.]

I believe that Eskom’s employment equity programme served as a catalyst for the current capacity problems. It is by now common knowledge that over the past 10 years Eskom has suffered a huge exodus of vital planning and operational skills. This exodus correlates very distinctly with Eskom’s intensifying of their employment equity programme. If hon Minister Erwin is here to take us in his government’s trust, allow me to propose the following. Place an immediate moratorium on Eskom’s employment equity programme in order to regain the lost skills. More plants are useless without these skills. I thank you.

Dr S M VAN DYK: Adjunkspeaker, die DA het ‘n parlementêre debat aangevra om die grootste landskrisis sedert 1994 te bepreek en oor Suid-Afrika te praat, nie Amerika nie. Die feit dat die regering sy land se ekonomie oorboord gooi met die afgelope paar weke se beurtkrag en die aankondiging dat die mynbedryf moet sluit, is ‘n skok wat Suid-Afrika tref.

Hierdie gebeurtenis kos die mynboubedryf R1 miljard per dag, met ‘n verwagte afskaling in ekonomiese groei van net 3% per jaar. Elke landsburger, trouens, die totale ekonomie, word geraak. Kundiges emigreer, buitelandse beleggers word afgeskrik, ondernemings word gelikwideer terwyl werkloosheid toeneem en misdaad styg. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Dr S M VAN DYK: Deputy Speaker, the DA has requested a parliamentary debate to discuss the biggest crisis this country has had to face since 1994, and to discuss South Africa, not America. The fact that the government has discarded its economy with regard to the load shedding of the past few weeks and the announcement that the mining industry will have to close, is a shock to the whole of South Africa.

This event is costing the mining industry R1 billion per day, with an expected scaling down in economic growth of a mere 3% per year. Every citizen of this country, in fact the whole economy, is affected by this. Experts emigrate, foreign investors are wary of investing, companies are liquidated, while unemployment and crime are on the increase.]

We acknowledge the absence of the President and the Deputy President in Parliament today. The shame is that all government is doing now is to say “sorry”. Unreliable reasons were all that have been given for the catastrophe, and consumers have been misled by government to the effect that the economy has been growing too fast. The fact, however, is that South Africa’s economic growth is still some way off the planned growth projections and that the growth that has occurred did so on increasingly insufficient reserve-generation capacity and not because of good governance or planning.

South Africa’s electricity rates are indeed among the cheapest in the world, and this may have discouraged savings on consumption. However, even if the public did take greater measures to cut down on usage, it would still not make up for the fact that government neglected the crisis warning in the White Paper on Energy Policy that was tabled in 1998.

Government is still not acknowledging the fact that bad management and a shortage of crucial skills have contributed to the problem. Furthermore, government refuses to accept the following as key contributors to the crisis: One, Eskom’s monopoly as the sole purchaser and supplier of electricity; two, insufficient maintenance of power-generation infrastructure; and three, the comparative unattractiveness of South Africa as an investment destination.

All South Africans are now suffering as a result of government’s transformation policy, which in its implementation seemed to have prioritised racial bean-counting rather than contributing to the security of our electricity supply.

The DA has been saying all along that qualified and experienced personnel must be appointed at the right place, in the right position, but no heed was paid to our call. Eskom itself has admitted that it is facing an annual shortage of 186 engineers, while there is also a shortage of other technicians to provide the necessary on-the-job training.

It is also disappointing that there has been no indication from government as to how the state will be going about compensating for the financial losses that are a direct result of government’s negligence by not investing timeously in generation capacity.

Apart from the 14% tariff increase this year, government has also not been able to indicate where and how Eskom will be raising the R300 billion needed for urgent capital projects. As a public enterprise of the state, capital injections can only be afforded to the extent that they are allowed for by government’s budgetary constraints.

As Eskom’s credit rating is now in danger of being downgraded, it will find it difficult to obtain affordable finance on the capital market. It will now be expected of the state to provide guarantees for the issuing of Eskom’s obligations and to subsidise the costs, further to the consumer, from revenue overruns.

The state will simply have to adjust its ideological and labour policy frameworks to attract foreign investment for the construction of power stations. This must also include a modification of Eskom’s current status as a monopoly to allow other energy producers in South Africa to sell directly to the consumers. This will undoubtedly increase the amount of electricity on offer; it will encourage energy consciousness; and will ensure more rapid progress to a situation where South Africa will once again have reserve capacity.

The consumer will also be paying for emergency equipment such as power generators, solar panels, etc. The DA asks that the taxpayer be compensated for these expenses by making them tax-deductible and by scrapping all import duties on such equipment.

The DA wants to know why South Africa is exporting electricity while South African citizens are sitting in the dark. We also want to know if our neighbouring states owe South Africa any outstanding amounts for electricity; if increases in our electricity tariffs for exported electricity are envisaged; and whether South Africa’s neighbouring states are also being load-shedded by Eskom as it does locally.

Eskom’s chairperson, Mr Valli Moosa, misled Parliament on 9 November when he addressed the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises during a briefing on Eskom’s annual report by not saying one word about the power crisis. This places a big question mark over the credibility of the content of Eskom’s annual report as well as the accuracy of information given to Parliament by Eskom officials. This constitutes a contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. For this Mr Moosa should be dismissed with immediate effect.

The R57 million in bonuses earned by Eskom’s top management over the past three years should also be repaid to Treasury. Of course, this will be little compensation to the millions that the Treasury will be losing in lost tax income as a result of losses incurred by the economy owing to blackouts.

Over and above these, losses will occur as a result of unaccounted-for income through cash tills, which will result in a lack of ability to reconcile VAT.

Government’s short-term plans to address the situation are a great source of concern to the DA as government politicians and their loyalists in the Public Service will be taking decisions on the implementation of electricity quotas in future in order to ensure saving in electricity consumption. This again assumes that the state has the competency to decide which sectors and business have more development potential than others.

Die verwagting is dat die krisis nog lank nie verby is nie. Laer beurtkrag en laer binnelandse produksie sal uitvoere laat afneem, wat druk plaas op buitelandse valutareserwes en die lopende rekening van die betalingsbalans. Suid-Afrika sal dan meer moet invoer om in die vraag te voorsien, met hoër invoerpryse tot gevolg omdat die rand reeds begin verswak het as gevolg van onsekerhede. Dit sal inflasie opjaag, met moontlike verdere rentekoersverhogings. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[The expectation is that the crisis is far from being resolved. Lower load shedding and lower domestic production will lead to declining exports, which will then put pressure on foreign exchange reserves and the current account of the balance of payments. South Africa will then have to resort to more imports to be able to satisfy the demand, which will lead to higher import prices, as the rand has already started weakening as a result of the uncertainties. This will lead to increased inflation, with further possible increases in interest rates.]

The power crisis constitutes a very important obstacle to the growth of our economy and the DA believes that it will be a key constraint to growth in relation to the Accelerated and Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa.

In addition, Eskom must ensure that a reliable and responsive communication system is put in place to ensure that consumers are informed timeously of when and where load shedding will be happening so that the lives of our people and the productivity of our economy can experience as little disruption as possible. I thank you. [Applause.]

Ms A N T MCHUNU: Madam Deputy Speaker, throughout this energy crisis, we have heard about the negative effects that the blackouts and load shedding are having on businesses and the people in the cities. The many people and communities from the rural areas that are also adversely affected by this crisis seem to be forgotten. I will, therefore, try to highlight measures to be employed by these communities to save electricity.

When the champion of champions, the champion of all seasons and of all decades, His Excellency Prince M G Buthelezi, stated that there was a crisis looming in South Africa, he was rubbished.

Individuals and communities should return to the basic principles of self- help and self-reliance. This approach, together with the employment of renewable energy and traditional practices such as using grinding and pounding stones would ensure that there is electricity saving in these communities.

When government embarks on exercises to educate and inform people of ways in which they can use energy more efficiently, they should not forget about the people in rural and traditional communities and they should encourage all South Africans to go back to basics and employ traditional technologies that were used in years gone by. This will not only have the effect of saving energy, but will also keep traditional practices alive.

Although these measures might seem insignificant to many of you or many of us, they will contribute to energy saving. The mining industry will benefit from energy-saving by communities. I have a Wonder Box here, and it is cooking right now. So, adopt the Wonder Box. [Time expired.] [Laughter.] The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, the new Chief Whip and the public at large that are listening to and watching this debate, the debate provides an opportunity to air the many intensely held and justifiable views on the current electricity emergency. This emergency we face at present is a very new experience for South African citizens and the economy as a whole.

The anger, economic loss and inconvenience of the past few weeks should rightly be addressed in this House. However, there is no better place than Parliament in which to deal with the facts and to mobilise a national effort to deal with this problem. If the country acts in concert, then we will stabilise the unpredictability of the situation in a matter of a few weeks. As the ANC, we are already taking a lead in this campaign.

There have been many comments made during the debate and I will deal with those that require comment and information shortly. I can appreciate that the political opposition sees a chance to draw blood. That is a nature of politics and we will address their position in the days and weeks to come.

However, no amounts of baying for sacrificial lambs will obviate the need for all of us to pull together in order to make a very real contribution to ameliorating and solving the situation.

Minister Sonjica gave a brief outline of the position in the development of energy policy. I will add some additional perspectives on this matter. However, our attention should now be devoted to the immediate situation. It is also the case that the sacrifices and the user discipline now required cannot be a one-way street. We have to say what Eskom and government will do in this situation.

But let me first deal with the critical and immediate action we must take and have taken. On Friday last week the government set out the short-, medium- and longer-term plan to deal with the situation. This national response plan deals with the mandatory provisions and the incentives and support programmes that will be introduced to increase energy usage efficiency.

This will allow for growth to continue on the basis of greater energy efficiency - and I stress that it will have to be on the basis of greater energy efficiency - and will increase our reserve margin as we bring on stream new capacity. What has been done is to fast-track an energy efficiency regime that would have been brought in more gradually over the next two years. We are now condensing this into a matter of months and Minister Sonjica has dealt with the main substance of this programme. We are referring to this set of measures as the Power Conservation Programme and this programme is essential since real energy-saving behaviour needs to be inculcated, not only now, but into the future. To understand the proposals made to large electricity consumers yesterday we just need to summarise the immediate problems we face. These are essentially heavy use of the system leading to technical problems in the system and that is overstretching our maintenance, we have problems of coal quality and stocks of coal and the resultant potential instability of the system.

May I take a moment just to stress this for all of us. This is not a matter for repartee. As the hon Chohan outlined, we cannot envisage any possibility of the system going down. This is absolutely critical. So, as I will deal with in a moment, we will err on the side of caution, because she has outlined in graphic detail the exact implications of the system going down. The South African system is far bigger than California’s and we don’t really have any ideas what it would mean. So we are doing everything to ensure a return to stability.

We have to address these matters urgently and to do so we have to throw more resources into maintenance to get stations back into service. However, we cannot do this in the current situation of such a low reserve margin and unpredictability. Accordingly, the most urgent imperative is to reduce demand so that we can stabilise the system. The proposals are designed to stabilise the national electricity system with measures designed to have an immediate effect.

Yesterday’s proposals were made to the largest users of energy in the economy. Essentially, we are driving for two phases in this stabilisation programme. The first is a four-week period, starting with immediate effect, that seeks to reduce ongoing demand by 4 000 megawatts. This gives us the space to catch up with maintenance, to rebalance the system and deal with the various coal supply problems we have experienced. We will also use this time to refine the targets and supply conditions for our various customer segments.

The target of 4 000 megawatts is above our overall target of about 10% of demand in order to address the accumulation of problems that are the direct cause of the present situation, and I have enumerated these. Thereafter, we propose that we move into a four-month period that we have defined as a rationing system. This must reduce overall demand by some 3 000 megawatts. This will be achieved in two ways: firstly, by agreed supply amounts to key sectors with specific conditions such as mining, the smelters and other large users. These are suppliers that Eskom can directly control and monitor.

In these sectors our target is also a 10% reduction, but implemented in a way that meets the specific needs of the sectors and users. We were pleased to announce that we have already begun to implement such a plan in the mining sector. The crisis that emerged in the mining sector over the past few days is a good and a very serious example of the kind of the problems that we can have in an unstable system. We will do everything in our power to avoid this, but need maximum support to do so. It was in our view correct to err on the side of caution by informing the key users that we could not guarantee supply.

I want to stress that’s what happened; we had to indicate in terms of contract and just plain good faith that we could not guarantee supply. Quite rightly, the mines then immediately withdrew their people from the mines. Now, clearly the caution was right and clearly the mines were right to do what they did. However, what was clearly problematic was that the kind of protocols - protocols are means of communication between us and our customers - were not designed for this situation. They caused a confused state and inaccurate information flowing between us. Now we are rapidly correcting this and I really would like to express my appreciation to the mining industry.

We have worked flat-out to achieve this. We have been able to establish new protocols, but it is not a simple issue. It is a detailed legal matter as well, and we are now restoring mine energy up to a target of 90%. Once again my thanks to the mining sector and the mining unions for their co- operation on this matter.

The second component of the rationing programme is a move towards planned and predictable shutdowns. All speakers here have pointed out just how disruptive that is, and as the hon Chohan have pointed out, load shedding is an engineering issue, but if we can make it predictable, we believe that this will be far more effective. We will have to share it across the economy, excluding the sectors I have dealt with in the planned targets.

The advantage of this is that it is predictable and designed to be less disruptive. However, the disadvantage is that it is still a form of load shedding. So, what we did yesterday with all the large customers - and their support was fantastic – was to appeal to the metros and later on to all other municipalities and all the big users to try and find ways of closing down 10% of their requirements; find ways of reducing the lighting, find ways of doing this and that because if we can do that - I want to stress this - if we can do that, we can avoid even the planned load shedding. This is a real challenge.

If we can’t do it, we must continue the load shedding. One really can’t stress this enough, because it is quite clear that this is the arena in which we can all make a massive contribution. So, the challenge facing us - and we’re working flat-out over these days – is to find those ways. We’re engaging with the customers, engaging with the metros, all metros, finding ways to incentivise the metros. But I really would appeal to this House because it can play an exceptionally important role.

If we can find ways to cut that 10% out of the system, we can move to a situation where we reduce, minimise and maybe even eliminate planned load shedding in a very quick period of time.

Government and Eskom are also taking urgent steps to deal with the supply conditions. There are three components to the supply-side response. The first is the Eskom Build programme, which is the long-term one, and we will move to a greater use of IPPs and I won’t respond to some of the misinformed comments about IPPs. We will use more IPPs in the coming period.

But this is a medium- to long-term solution and it does not help the current situation, therefore the second component of our supply-side response is to look for forms of energy we can bring into the system quickly. Here we’re looking essentially at cogeneration. These are sugar mills, refineries and many other things that produce energy and we have to see if we can use that energy for electricity. You cannot turn it on overnight. We had detailed discussions with the users yesterday and there is a process of bidding and project planning for cogeneration.

The second, of course, is to construct very quickly the kind of gas-fired turbines that we have here in Atlantis in the Cape and at Mossel Bay, but I need to stress that although we can bring certain amounts on fairly quickly, you cannot bring a major capacity on inside 24 or 20 months. The third area, of course, relates to Eskom itself, where we will have to deal with this unprecedented condition and improve and change and modify our maintenance procedures to catch up and keep up with the debate.

There are one or two quick points that emerged in the debate which I would just like to deal with. I want to stress that of course in a situation like this we are all experts, we all warned everybody and of course government is all wrong. [Interjections.] We all forget that we were all sitting in a massive energy summit in September 2007 and none of you had these brilliant plans. [Interjections.]

Thank you very much, you were at the summit. If you weren’t you were sleeping! [Interjections.] Let me make two other very important points; one piece of blatant misinformation which I must correct to the public: the hon Van Dyk deliberately misled this House by saying government would decide on the quotas. He can read the documents and he’ll see that’s nonsense. He can find someone who participated in yesterday’s meeting or he can talk to us; it is nonsense. There are very clear protocols for how the protocols would be decided and this matter will be dealt with in that manner.

The next issue …

Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order: The hon Minister has indicated …

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! What is your point?

Mr M J ELLIS: The hon Minister has said that …

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are rising on what point?

Mr M J ELLIS: On a point of order. The Minister said that the hon Van Dyk deliberately misled the House and I believe that that is something that needs to be investigated. But the hon Minister knows as well as I do that that kind of accusation is unparliamentary.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, that is unparliamentary.

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. I withdraw it, but the information provided by the hon Van Dyk is inaccurate.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The deliberate part, that is the part that is unparliamentary. The facts are okay, but that he deliberately misled, that is the part that you must withdraw.

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Then I withdraw that, but I would like to point out to this House that that information is incorrect. Factually incorrect! [Interjections.] Factually incorrect!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon members!

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: The apportioning of blame and the baying for blood, as we have seen, of course, is a luxury that many of us have, but not those who have to take decisions. Our priority is to deal with the current emergency. I know that there are many who hope that they will find some clear-cut culpability lurking in these events. I personally doubt it, but we will have to debate that. I think we are going to find a whole confluence of events that comes together. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon members! Hon Minister, your time has now expired.

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Thank you, Madam Chair. Can I just make one point of conclusion, if I may?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, I’ll allow that.

The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Because I think it is very important. This concerns the question of investment in our economy. We are engaging with investors, as we outlined in detail yesterday. We believe that the investment and growth process will continue and we are also absolutely certain that there is no risk to the security of electricity supply in

1. I thank you, Madam Speaker. [Applause.] Mr E N MTHETHWA: Deputy Speaker and members, before making an input in this debate, could I, with your permission, Deputy Speaker, propose that we observe a moment of silence? Comrade John Gomomo, one of us, has departed. Is that permissible?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, it is.

Mr E N MTHETHWA: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I want to express my sincere appreciation to my predecessor, Mr Mogase … ngomsebenzi awenzile, ewenzela umbutho wakhe, enikezwe lomsebenzi wokuba uSotswebhu wombutho wesizwe. Siyabonga kakhulu, baba. [Ihlombe.].

Ezikhathini ezifana nalezi kulula ukuthi sidlalele izibukeli, singabhekani nenkinga esibhekene nayo sibone ukuthi sizokwenzenjani. Okufanele kule nkulumompikiswano yethu namhlanje kucace, ukuthi singumbutho wesizwe siyanakekela, singumbutho wesizwe siyazi ukuthi abantu bakithi basebunzimeni ngale ndaba kagesi. Yingakho kusukela ku Mongameli wezwe kuya ko Ngqongqoshe kade sisho ukuthi yobe bantu bakithi yize ke futhi sibuka indlela eya phambili okuyikho okubalulekile. Amaphuzu alishumi abekwe uNgqongqoshe weZokumbiwa phansi naMandla nendlela eya phambili eyethulwe uNgqongqoshe u Erwin, yizinto lezi okufanele sizibhekeu ukuthi ayikho enye into esizoyenza kodwa ukubhekana nalenkinga esinayo sizame ukuthi siphendule umbuzo emakhaya ukuthi likhona na ithemba okuyiyona into abantu abafuna ukuyazi. Kumele sisho futhi ukuthi abantu ababeyingxenye yokukhululwa kwalelizwe bayazi ukuthi uhulumeni okhona ukuthi angeke nanini wabenzela phansi ngamabomu. Yingakho ke ngithi kumele sithumele umbiko kuwona wonke umuntu ukuthi … (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[… for the job he did for his party, when he was given this task of being the Chief Whip of the African National Congress. Thank you very much, Sir.

In times like these, it is easy to criticise each other in public, instead of dealing with the problem that we are facing and coming up with solutions. What should be clarified in today’s debate is that we, as the African National Congress, care. As the ANC, we know that our people are experiencing difficulties regarding this issue of electricity cuts. That is why, ranging from the President of the country to Cabinet Ministers, we expressed our apologies to our fellow citizens and we are trying to find a solution, which is important. The 10-Point energy saving plan presented by the Minister of Minerals and Energy and the National Electricity Emergency Programme presented by Minister Erwin are the things that we need to monitor because there is nothing else that we can do except to deal with this problem we are facing. And we have to answer the questions of the public with regard to whether there is hope, because that is what people really want to know. We should also say that those people who were part of the struggle to liberate this country know that the present government will never deliberately let them down. Which is why I say we must put across the message to everybody that …]

… we all have a challenge firstly to communicate clearly with the people of our land, using all mediums of communication to ensure that the message is put across; that there is hope; that we are confident of the situation; that we understand the difficulties and inconveniences our society is facing currently.

It is against this backdrop that we should not take lightly what people have raised with us. We should actually try to correct those things; for instance, the issue of the timetable of load shedding. All of us, government, public representatives and state-owned entities, should endeavour to ensure that we provide for our people and forewarn them with whatever load shedding we may at any time come across.

Some of the things that are contained in the energy plan deals specifically with the matter raised by the hon Greyling about solar water heaters. Part of the plan is to roll out, in the next three months, exactly what he was suggesting - a million solar water heaters to ensure that we correct the situation.

It is important also to comment on the hon Mr Singh’s proposal that we must try and find solutions. One speaker said if someone decides to make this a political football, we may juggle better than them. It is not about that. It is currently about having the interest of the nation at heart. That is what we should be doing. I think that’s the line we would want to take.

I don’t think some of these things, like calling for the heads of Ministers and Eskom, are going to help. If you easily call for someone to be removed without providing any alternative, like the good reverend has done this afternoon, I don’t think it would necessarily help the kind of situation we are in. It would help to show us what we need to do.

We are not being defensive on the matter. We are taking the punches. We have apologised where necessary, but I think it would help to show some understanding rather than just to display ignorance towards challenges we are faced with.

Comparing us with Brazil is way off the mark, because the issue with Brazil is the abundance of water, which we don’t have. Actually, we are still grappling with ensuring that people get access to water for consumption purposes. It can’t be on the agenda of this government to look at hydroelectricity.

We have had very good intervention from Mr Pheko on renewable energy. But I must also add that that the committee on minerals and energy, in particular, sorely misses this very brilliant intervention. Having been the chairperson of minerals and energy for three years, we always had Mr Pheko on the register … kodwa akakaze asivakashele kanti ibingasisiza kakhulu lento yakhe uma ebengayibeka laphaya ekomitini lethu. [… However, he never attended our meeting and this could have helped us if he had presented it in our committee.]

I think the message is clear. I don’t have to waste your time. It is clear. Let us, as members and public representatives, go all out and spread the message to the people out there that there are things we still have to do as government and as Parliament, and that there are things our communities need to do, and in that way we’d be able, as South Africans, to face the kind of difficulties we are going through. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly adjourned the Joint Sitting at 16:17.