Stage 6 loadshedding costs the South African economy R900 million a day! The South African Reserve Bank predicts that if we have 250 days of loadshedding this year (so far it looks like we’ll have 365 days of it) the South African economy will lose R236 billion in 2023!

As a solution, instead of firing the current Ministers of Energy and Public Enterprises, President Ramaphosa appointed a Minister of Electricity, to an already bloated executive, in the parallel government that he is creating within his Office, on 6 March 2023. We are probably the only country in the world to have both a Minister of Energy and a niche Minister of Electricity. 

Since the Minister of Electricity’s appointment, he has announced that he has not seen any evidence of corruption in Eskom - completely contrary to the former Eskom CEO’s explosive expose on the state of the crumbling power utility - and we are now also experiencing some of the highest stages of loadshedding in this year. This is without us having yet entered the peak utility season in winter. What most people do not know is that, in addition to R236 billion cost to the economy, the Minister of Electricity (or rather Loadshedding) costs the South African taxpayer R37 million a year!

Of the R37 million, the highest cost to taxpayers goes towards the salaries of the minister, his deputy and their offices, at a total of R17.8 million. VIP protection costs is a close second at R16 million, and R3.2 million goes towards four luxury vehicles. Of course the irony is that the Minister of Electricity gets free water and electricity - paid for by the state (us) - at R240,000.

There is absolutely no financial justification for creating a duplicate office to that of the Department of Energy. The President must account to the public for this additional office and the expenditure that is covered by taxpayer money - particularly when we’re worse off now than before the Minister’s appointment. 

We call on Parliament to represent the voice of the South African people, as it is mandated to do, and demand that the President account for his decision to appoint a Minister of Electricity, or do away with either the Minister of Electricity or the Minister of Energy. Opening up the energy sector to private institutions should be the solution to loadshedding - not the appointment of ANOTHER minister!