Energy minister gets torrid questioning

ENERGY Minister Tina Joemathas come under fire from opposition benches in Parliament, accused of being an absent minister while the country was having rolling blackouts.

Joemat-Pettersson endured a torrid time in the National Assembly, during her budget vote yesterday, from opposition MPs who demanded an end to the blackouts.

But Joemat-Pettersson said she was unperturbed by the attack by the opposition as the government was doing all it could to save energy and ensure its security and supply.

“Our government’s urgent response to load shedding has accelerated the finalisation of the much-awaited integrated energy plan. Once approved by cabinet (sic), the integrated energy plan will be published as a policy document,” she said.

She added that this policy would inform the country’s energy mix programme, as announced by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address last year.

She said the government had brought the private sector on board to solve the energy crisis by increasing the participation of independent power producers.

DA MP Ian Ollis said the blackouts were dealing a death blow to the economy of the country.

He said this would stagnate the economy and make it difficult for the government to achieve its ambitious target of increasing the economy by 5% in four years.

He accused the ANC of talking the National Development Plan, but walking the National Democratic Revolution, which led to the shelving of a bill dealing with the participation of independent power producers.

Joemat-Pettersson said the bill would be reintroduced after it had been withdrawn three years ago.

Ollis said the bill would resolve the energy crisis.

He accused Joemat-Pettersson of globetrotting while the country faced an energy crisis.

Deidre Carter, of Cope, described South Africa as a sinking Titanic, with the difference being that the Titanic sank with its lights on.

She said the Eskom crisis had escalated into a national catastrophe.