<\/p>\n
Durban – President Cyril Ramaphosa has been urged to give Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa the ministerial powers related to generation capacity and procurement when he reveals what his responsibilities will be.<\/p>\n
Ramokgopa was appointed minister early last month, but Ramaphosa has not yet promulgated a gazette setting out his powers.<\/p>\n
However, Ramaphosa suggested to Parliament last week that Ramokgopa will focus on energy generation while Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan will ensure that there is a transmission company, and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe will focus on policy and procurement, said Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n
Energy expert Lungile Mashele said Ramaphosa should have consulted internally prior to introducing Ramokgopa\u2019s ministry and his responsibilities should have been made clear once he was appointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe electricity ministry needs powers to be transferred through section 97 of the Constitution. This should have been done prior to the appointment of the ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, the ministry has no budget but is being funded by the private sector \u2013 which is not right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mashele said Ramokgopa needs the powers in terms section 46 of the Electricity Regulation Act to procure new capacity whether on a short- or long-term basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe powers of generation cannot go without procurement. In order to get new generation on board, whether from the region or private sector, a procurement process accompanied by energy planning (and modelling) is required. This function currently lies with the DMRE (Department of Mineral Resources and Energy).<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the electricity minister is not granted these powers then there\u2019s no point in having this role, it then gives credence to the project manager comments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa told Parliament they have looked at the tasks that relate to generation in the Electricity Regulation Act and those tasks that need to be executed by the minister of electricity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey include matters of generation and the identification of the type of energy source we need. Thereafter, co-operating with the minister of minerals and resources and energy for the procurement process. Once it has been procured, the minister of electricity will ensure that it is implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramokgopa was also responsible for driving the various actions being co-ordinated by the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) to end load shedding as a matter of urgency, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatters of energy policy remain the responsibility of the minister of mineral resources and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE MERCURY<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Durban – President Cyril Ramaphosa has been urged to give Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa the ministerial powers related to generation capacity and procurement when he reveals what his responsibilities will be. Ramokgopa was appointed minister early last month, but Ramaphosa has not yet promulgated a gazette setting out his powers. However, Ramaphosa suggested to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[14331,1529,13006,5229,13002,14330],"class_list":["post-179018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-advisable","tag-energy","tag-expert","tag-limiting","tag-powers","tag-ramokgopas"],"yoast_head":"\n