|
Call for debate on power crisis
17/01/2008 18:48 - (SA)
Michael Hamlyn
Cape Town - The National Assembly heard a plea on Thursday for a debate to be held soon on the country's electricity crisis.
Hendrik Schmidt, the spokesperson on minerals and energy for the Democratic Alliance, proposed the debate be held in giving notice of a motion in the house as MPs prepared to discuss the re-presented termination of pregnancy bill.
Schmidt called on the house to debate the energy crisis "regarding the supply of electricity, and the negative effect on the economy, and the steps the government and
Eskom are taking and ought to take".
Earlier in the day, Schmidt issued a statement saying the country's lack of reserve power had now reached catastrophic proportions which if left unchecked threatened to undermine South Africa's future growth prospects.
Noting that Eskom had now appealed to government for a moratorium on the approval of large-scale industrial projects until 2013, he said this could derail a number of huge projects, such as BHP Billiton's expansion of two aluminium smelters in Richards Bay.
"Our economy simply cannot afford to chase away investment of this size as it not only undermines our growth potential, but also stymies the much-needed ability to create jobs," Schmidt said.
|
News
