The ANC has kept mum regarding allegations levelled at it by rival political parties and community organisations on the issue of the suspension of loadshedding.
A query was sent to the ANC’s national media team this past week by Tshwane Talks regarding the aforesaid allegations but up to now no response has been forthcoming from the ruling party.
For close to two months now the country hasn’t been experiencing loadshedding and this has prompted some community and political groupings to form the opinion that this state of affairs is a ploy by the ruling party to avoid possible defeat at the polls come 29 May.
The following are verbatim statements submitted to Tshwane Talks by the said rival formations:
1. KEKELETSO KHENA- #NOFAITHINTHESYSTEM.
The problems at Eskom are man-made. They have been designed to justify the unbundling of Eskom.
There is a plan to privatise power in this country, but what is needed first is to create crises so that people start believing that the best way to address these power crises is to actually unbundle Eskom and privatise power.
When my colleague Dudu Shaba and I embarked on a sit-in at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) in January last year for five days to protest against electricity tariff hikes and loadshedding, we made it clear that the nonsense that is happening at Eskom was designed so that there won’t be a big countrywide outcry when Eskom is eventually unbundled and sold off.
Nothing happens in a vacuum and the people who are going to benefit from the sale of Eskom are the independent power producers
The fact that we haven’t had power cuts for over a month is indicative of the fact that we don’t have power issues in this country.
It is winter now and we are already using a lot of power in the form of heaters, and we are baking, but there is no loadshedding.
This means it is possible to provide uninterrupted power when they (Eskom) want to.
The sabotage they are talking about is internal sabotage; their own politics regarding the eventual unbundling of Eskom and giving independent power producers a large stake in it.
JABU RAKWENA- AZANIAN PEOPLES ORGANISATION (AZAPO) NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON:
The government’s neglect of maintenance and upkeep of the power stations has given the country corrupt tender entrepreneurs who supply power services and use mafia tactics to win and influence the awards and execution of tenders.
We are led by mafias who collude in these unacceptable practices or turn a blind eye to such activities.
The fact of the matter is that the ANC government is in a panic mode.
They have suspended loadshedding and also engage in mundane things like the handing over of a school, which is something that they insist must be covered by the SABC to showcase their delivery maxim.
We as AZAPO are calling on all our people not to fall for the claptrap of the ANC.
SBUSISO XABA- PAN AFRICANIST CONGRESS OF AZANIA (PAC) TSHWANE LEADER
As the PAC we have always maintained that loadshedding was never a systemic nor maintenance issue.
It (loadshedding) has always been an issue of planned corruption and looting designed to create desperation among our people.
If loadshedding was a real necessity, it would not have gone away now just before the elections, and only to come back again after elections, because it will definitely come back after elections.
That will be the case as there is a need to create a desperate nation that is willing to sell off its national assets like Eskom.
We are facing a criminal gang that has hijacked the state and wants to bring on independent power producers at all costs, even at the expense of our suffering as a nation.
Due to elections, they are under pressure from the public and dynamics have changed now, forcing them to implement a change of plan to appease the society.
People must not be fooled by the temporary relief from loadshedding because the energy hunger they have been experiencing is by design.
ABEL TAU- FORUM FOR SERVICE DELIVERY (F4SD) PREMIER CANDIDATE
Loadshedding is a man-made crisis in two folds: 1. To necessitate emergency procurement measures through which ANC cadres would benefit by flaunting procurement processes and getting coal and other supplies at inflated prices.
This would feed the cadres’ insatiable appetite to feed their greed of stealing from the nation.
2. Deployment of incompetent cadres at the helm of Eskom who have failed to adhere to the master plan which entailed developing new energy-generating infrastructure at Kusile and Medupi power stations.
These power stations should have been completed and put online a long time ago.
Loadshedding is the ANC’s hot potato and now their ploy is to make us believe that they have solved the problem and expect to be applauded
How can they expect us to clap hands for them in appreciation of “solving” a problem that they themselves have created?
At the moment Eskom is obviously burning diesel frantically at exorbitant prices to keep the generators running, and the proceeds of those exorbitant prices will be used to fund their election machinery.
After the 29 May elections we are going back to stage 6 or even stage 8 of loadshedding resulting in the darkest winter we have ever experienced.
We as F4SD are saying South Africans must not be fooled by the current loadshedding-free situation.
PHATHIWE NDLELENI- SIZWE UMMAH NATION PARTY (SUN)
We don’t have loadshedding now because its suspension is influenced by the ANC’s election strategy.
Come 30 May we will be back under loadshedding whether we like it or not.
That’s the ANC for you.
All of a sudden there is no loadshedding, how come?
This is just a public relations stunt pulled by the ANC to garner votes, hence there is no loadshedding.
KABELO NTHEKISO- JAMA- AH PARTY.
The suspension of loadshedding is a political stunt.
Over the years we have been told of lack of electricity-generation capacity, but now that we are a few weeks from elections we are told we have enough electricity-generation capacity.
All these years we have been experiencing loadshedding, and now this.
This is pure electioneering, and this stunt is aimed at making sure that the ANC is not decampaigned by the loadshedding issue.
In the first or second week of loadshedding after the elections the blame for power blackouts will be attributed on the winter season.