Lead or else, ANC cautions Ramaphosa over electricity crisis

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ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has sent a strong warning to President Cyril Ramaphosa to lead more effectively, following recent reports that his cabinet ministers are engaged in a war over electricity generation. 

During a media briefing on Friday, Mbalula said Ramaphosa must lead or the ruling party would “deal with him”. 

The Mail & Guardian recently reported that Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe had challenged Ramaphosa to fire him after exposing the president’s plans to transfer some of his ministerial powers to his counterpart in the new electricity portfolio, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. 

Ramokgopa is said to have raised his frustration about being hamstrung by there being two ministries charged with energy with Ramaphosa. 

During a cabinet meeting this week, Ramokgopa presented plans requiring that some of Mantashe’s and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s powers be moved to his portfolio to help him effectively perform his job of responding to South Africa’s electricity crisis. He was, however, shown the door by Gordhan and Mantashe who told him to refer his proposal to the national energy crisis committee which reports directly to the president. 

Both ministers were instrumental in Ramaphosa securing another term as ANC president and both have been labelled as de facto prime ministers at some stage or another.  

The Mail & Guardian has learned that Ramokgopa also warned the cabinet that the country was facing stage eight load shedding this winter. 

The battle for control of energy is expected to take centre stage at the governing party’s national executive committee meeting which commenced on Friday morning. Ramokgopa is slated to make a presentation during which he will probably try to rally support for his mission to extend his powers. 

Mbalula, who has been a Ramaphosa ally since the 2017 ANC elective conference that first brought Ramaphosa to power, left journalists shell shocked when he took a firm stance against the party president. 

“We are not interested in fighting territorial battles. Anyone who is doing that, the ANC will deal with them,” Mbalula said. “We didn’t appoint the electricity minister to struggle for powers for whatever he wants. We want a working relationship that intervenes. If there is any of that, we will brief you on Tuesday or Wednesday [on] what is the attitude of the ANC.”

His comments suggest that Ramokgopa has support from one of the top seven leaders in the party. Should he gain further support, an exchange of ministerial powers would jeopardise the already vulnerable alliance between party chair Mantashe and Ramaphosa. 

Mbalula said the ANC would give Ramaphosa “marching orders” to intervene in the territorial war in his cabinet. 

“He can’t allow anarchy at this moment when you have got to keep the lights on. In his cabinet he must decide — we have given him a mandate and South Africa supports the minister of electricity to deal with load-shedding. We expect the president to run his cabinet and not have his cabinet run him. If he [Ramaphosa] has got a problem, then we will have a problem with him,” he said. 

Ramaphosa could not allow media reports suggesting there was a rift in his cabinet to control the public narrative. 

“That must be clear. It will be even clearer in this meeting. We can’t come to the public and to you [the media] and tell you that the government we run is confused about what Ramokgopa needs to do,” he said.

“The president is the CEO of the country. He must give direction and that mandate we have given him. We are meeting here and we will get a report.

“South Africans are not interested in territorial battles. We are interested in what we can do to increase generational capacity in the country in the shortest possible time to deal with electricity and keep the lights on.”