By Themba Mzula Hleko
While South Africans are grappling with the undesirable and recalcitrant effects of loadshedding, the recent declaration by the president of a national state of disaster to deal with the constraint and severity of electricity supply has evoked mixed feelings from the general republic that the dreaded intrusiveness of loadshedding will be eradicated.
Furthermore, the announcement of the new minister of electricity during the cabinet reshuffle was a glaring display that the government orchestrated, which is in sync towards creating a loadshedding free anthem.
First, the president acknowledged that without a reliable supply of electricity, businesses cannot grow, assembly lines cannot run, and crops cannot be irrigated.
He further mentioned that the impact of the crisis on farmers must be lessened because this affects food security.
Second, during the budget speech, the Minister of Finance further rehashed the president’s remarks by alluding to the fact that record levels of load shedding experienced in 2022 saw the country being loadshed for 207 days.
This translated to an astronomical loss for example, by broiler farmers who could not keep the heaters on resulting in their chickens dying. The same goes for crop farmers who were unable to use their irrigation pumps to water their crops.
This apparent loss in revenue has a ripple effect on food and job security, worsening the state of economic recovery that was ruined by Covid-19.
Under the new disaster management regulations gazetted by the minister of corporative governance and traditional affairs, the new minister of electricity must inject much-needed impetus together with other ministers like the Minister of Agriculture, land reform and rural development to minimize the impact of loadshedding on livelihoods, the economy and food security.
The state of disaster must enable ministers to provide practical measures that need to be taken to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including the rollout of generators and solar panels.
In the agricultural sector, measures taken during the height of Covid-19 like the Presidential Employment Stimulus which enabled the public to earn a living need to be brought back to cushion small-scale farmers with input vouchers to buy solar panels and generators in an endeavour to boost their production capacity and food security.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.
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