When the power outages resume, the ANC government won’t take any chances and would stop at nothing to shield Cabinet Ministers from load-shedding. Everyone is relieved by the current load-shedding vacation, but the African National Congress (ANC) administration has ensured that ministerial homes’ power backup systems are kept operating at optimal efficiency.
The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, responded to a DA parliamentary question by revealing that taxpayers recently spent about R1 million to replace three ministerial houses’ generators, with each generator costing an average of R325,000.
Industrial grade generators, which provide three-phase power to run industrial gear, are the only generators offered at that price range. Generators of this magnitude are totally unneeded and a disgraceful misuse of taxpayer funds, unless Cabinet Ministers are operating factories out of their homes.
Assuring that “all existing generators are kept in good working condition” is a systematic maintenance schedule that the DPWI pursues, Zikalala provided confirmation to Ministers and Deputy Ministers who continue to use their outdated generators. Cabinet ministers are the only people in South Africa guaranteed a continuous supply of power, entirely funded by taxpayers, notwithstanding Eskom’s warning that Stage 2 may be enforced over the winter based on its winter generation prediction.
According to industry data, when operating at full load, a 350 kVA 3 Phase diesel generator uses 53 liters of diesel per hour. This indicates that 318 liters of diesel are burned daily by the generators at ministerial houses during Stage 6 load-shedding. Despite our request for a detailed breakdown of the diesel expenses, Zikalala conveniently neglected to attach the annexures. It’s obvious that he intended to conceal the astronomical sums of public funds used to maintain ministers’ accommodations.
This is if ever a sign that the ANC’s priorities have shifted over the past 30 years from freedom to fiefdom. Instead of helping our people escape poverty, they have protected their leadership and cadres from the harshest consequences of their terrible leadership.
The South African people will have the chance to choose a new government on May 29, 2024, one that is concerned with improving the lives of all South Africans, not just a select group of wealthy politicians. That administration is DA. a government that knows how to resolve the energy situation rather than just prolong it. A government that defends its people against load shedding, not its elected officials. The only thing that can save South Africa is a DA-led administration.
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