Question NW1965 to the President of the Republic
13 June 2023 - NW1965
Maotwe, Ms OMC to ask the President of the Republic
Whether, since his reply to oral question 7 on 11 May 2023 and the creation of a Ministry in the Presidency for Electricity, he has fully developed the key performance areas of the specified Ministry; if not, why not; if so, what (a) exactly is the Minister in the Presidency for Electricity’s key performance areas, (b)(i) legislative and (ii) other core energy-related functions have been transferred to the authority of the specified Minister and (c)(i) total budget has been allocated to the Minister and (ii) budget vote has the money been sourced from?
Reply:
The President appointed the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity to focus on the following key priorities:
- Reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding as a matter of urgency.
- Oversee all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee and implementation of the Energy Action Plan.
- Facilitate the coordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.
On 24 May 2023, I transferred to the Minister of Electricity all powers and functions contained in Section 34(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act, which were previously entrusted to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. I also transferred to the Minister of Electricity relevant powers and functions set out in Section 34(2) of the Electricity Regulation Act to the extent that the powers and functions relate to any purpose set out in Section 34(1).
The Presidency in consultation with National Treasury is in a process of finalising budget allocation to the Ministry in line with the assigned legislative mandate. Furthermore, coordination has been activated through intergovernmental relations to use available resources to respond effectively to the national energy crisis.