“In 1983 under a different government, we had load shedding which led to a decision to build several power stations which were eventually completed early 1990s and are still problematic so not everything is the fault of the ANC.”
Gordhan also reiterated that the issue is because of the history of Eskom as well as the slow recovery rate of power stations.
“We are going to work hard with every entity involved to ensure stability. We certainly agree that everything must be done to ensure a stable electricity supply.
“There will be eventually no more load shedding once we have more megawatts connected to the system. It is not going to happen overnight. To be frank with the SA public, the government has said repeatedly – we could still have load shedding for 9 – 12 months.
“We want to limit it to Stage 2 load shedding, if possible. The Eskom management at a power station level management needs to do more to ensure that those plants are maintained properly, they run efficiently and they minimise the discomfort and the costs for citizens and businesses.
The president was addressing the nation during his weekly newsletter “From the Desk of the President”.
“As we continue to experience load shedding, there is a great temptation to give up hope that we will ever solve this problem. Yet, if we look just beyond the most immediate crisis, there are real signs of progress and good reasons to be optimistic,” Ramaphosa said.
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