Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter comments that, “unless South Africa aggressively invests in renewable energy...” and warns for possible stage 15 loadshedding. This is a reckless and unacceptable statement in the face of the collapsing SA economy. 

Load-shedding has become a mother epidemic, it has given birth to a new socioeconomic disorder. South Africans have admitted that electricity generation capacity is a problem and it will stay for a long time. Day-by-day, South Africans are adjusting to the problem.

South Africans are on their own. In the past we saw former minister Tito Mboweni resigning from National Treasury and from his seat in parliament, joining so-called “prestigious” financial intuitions, and we all saw his move as a selfish one and lack patriotism on his part.

During his tenure, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a R70bn loan to SA. He left the country at the brink of financial collapse, confronted with a huge repayment of loan interest to the World Bank and IMF. SA now needs patriotic leadership, men and women ready to serve the people, a cohort of leaders prepared to stay in war against poverty, load-shedding, injustice and inequality. The war is not over until all these are defeated and unemployment is no longer a daily bread.

Our leaders must emulate Japanese soldier sergeant Shoichi Yokoi, who refused to believe the war was over until the country is back at work, a corrupt-free society with great leaders, who are not for themselves but true servants of the masses. Ministers running from office and turning into cooks while we are confronted with this war, executives resigning from the Eskom board, and blaming the ANC for these challenges is not going to help. Let us all join hands and confront this head-on. The war is not over, it just began.

Elias Mampane, email