Govt 'confident' of power plan
2008-01-22 15:00
Cape Town - Cabinet, meeting unusually on a Tuesday, had a
briefing from Jacob Maroga, the chief executive of Eskom, on the current state of power supply in the country. Afterwards, a statement from the Cabinet spokesperson Themba
Maseko said: "Government is confident that a solution is already under way."
The Cabinet meeting was held before the start of the annual Cabinet lekgotla, at which the power crisis will be extensively discussed.
Tuesday's meeting merely noted Maroga's report, and decided that it would be one of the initiatives that would form part of a consolidated national plan that will be announced
after the lekgotla ends.
Normally results of the Cabinet lekgotla are revealed only during the President's state
of the nation address at the opening of Parliament next month, but it is likely that a
special announcement on the power crisis will be made next week after the cabinet's
adoption of the consolidated plan.
One of the items that will form part of the plan will be a Cabinet response to the request
from Maroga for additional capital to be provided to help the power utility over the
financial squeeze it has encountered now that the electricity regulator has restricted its
tariff increase to 14.2%.
The meeting will also review the load-shedding formula, and will ensure that there is a
better communications strategy to ensure the public is properly informed about the
arrangements.
"Government gives the assurance that everything is being done at the highest level of
government, Eskom and key stakeholders to find an inclusive solution to the energy
problem in the short, medium and long term," Maseko said. He added that the solution
would include not only government and the state enterprises, but also the private sector
and the public.