Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday engaged Nedlac on Eskom matters.

Ramaphosa led a delegation of ministers and deputy ministers that met with NEDLAC social partners at the Union Buildings‚ Pretoria.

The meeting was convened to brief the NEDLAC social partners on government efforts to secure the country’s electricity supply.

The meeting was the latest in a series of consultations by the Electricity War Room Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC)‚ led by Deputy President Ramaphosa‚ with various sectors to develop a common understanding of the electricity supply challenge and invite comment and solutions.

Government briefed the NEDLAC partners on progress made by the IMC in implementing the five point action plan approved by Cabinet to develop immediate and short term interventions to manage the electricity supply and demand situation.

 The NEDLAC social partners welcomed the invitation to be briefed on government efforts through the War room to address current electricity challenges. The meeting received proposals from Business Unity South Africa‚ the Black Business Council‚ Cosatu‚ Fedusa‚ Nactu and community representatives on addressing electricity challenges.

Business‚ labour and community undertook to work with government to restore public and business confidence in Eskom and in the economy.

Deputy President Ramaphosa said: “We are seeking sustainable ways to stabilise Eskom and the national grid‚ and advance energy efficiency in our country; we want to return Eskom to optimal technical capability so that it can carry on doing what it does best.

“We also want to ensure that the governance processes and structures within Eskom are on a sound footing. We know that Eskom has leadership and governance challenges. We are taking steps to address these challenges.”

Deputy President Ramaphosa said that the current electricity challenge affected all sectors of society and needed to be addressed collectively.

Deputy President Ramaphosa invited the NEDLAC social partners to collaborate with government in developing solutions. All constituencies committed themselves to working with government and Eskom on a national energy efficiency campaign and efforts to restore public confidence in Eskom.