President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a closing address on the final day of the National Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg, Gauteng. He added that the NEC agreed that achieving energy security and bringing an end to load shedding remains the top priority of their movement.
As per President Ramaphosa, close emphasis will be given to ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to strategic installations and infrastructure.
“The NEC noted that our country is seeing a massive surge of private investments in electricity generation, while these initiatives give us confidence, we are consciously aware that it will take us time to show the results,” said the South African President.
#ANCNEC Closing Remarkshttps://t.co/qeHUFnD81p
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) April 24, 2023
President stated that the National Executive Committee has noted that the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) is undertaking necessary maintenance to ensure planned outages can be limited particularly during winter when demand is increased.
“This situation requires us to manage the demand for our electricity as we enter winter. We are aware that the ESCOM was able to implement a very successful public campaign to reduce electricity demand during the winter of 2010, which helped to save 3000 megawatts of consumption,” said Ramaphosa.
Furthermore, the President asked all South Africans to come forward in the initiative. He advised that the people must keep their geysers switched off during the day. As per Ramapahosa, the additional efforts by the general public will help in getting added electricity capacity.
“This has worked in the past, and we believe in the course of this crisis, it is a measure that we all can embark upon,”.
He added that South Africa remains committed to reducing its emission reduction target to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
Additionally, President Cyril Ramaphosa also outlined the significance of job protection to safeguard the economy.
Besides electricity issues concerning the country, the National Executive Committee also discussed the methods to tackle the increasing crime rate in the country. He said NEC has agreed to strengthen law enforcement agencies to ensure safety and stability.
“This plan must deal with rising levels of crime, such as kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, gangsterism, illegal mining, and construction mafia,”.
He added that the meeting helped him access the work of the organization, and get a look at the challenges faced by the country and its people. Ramaphosa stated that the purpose of the meeting was also the look for solutions to eliminate the hardships faced by people.
During his address, he also remembered veteran Oliver Tambo on his 30th death anniversary an laid wreaths at the grave in commemoration of the day he died.
“We remember OR Tambo as the embodiment of selfless leadership, humility and compassion. Throughout his life he fought to tear down the barriers of prejudice, ignorance and injustice,” said Ramaphosa.
Today we laid wreaths at the grave of President OR Tambo in commemoration of the day he died. We remember OR Tambo as the embodiment of selfless leadership, humility and compassion. Throughout his life he fought to tear down the barriers of prejudice, ignorance and injustice. pic.twitter.com/UfKmEBnQan
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) April 24, 2023
