Gwede Mantashe

Kevin Mileham, the Shadow Minister of Minerals and Energy, explains how the ANC blundered when appointing Gwede Mantashe.

And we’re seeing it pay off because the Western Cape is streets ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to investment, when it comes to unemployment. And the state doesn’t have the money to build a new generation. In fact, I would prefer to see Mantashe out of the Cabinet completely. There’s just no no time and no money for the state to build it. The biggest users of nuclear power in the world as a percentage of power production are the French. So that means that we’ve got to bring in new generation from outside if it’s got to be independent power producers adding to the grid. He has a vested interest and a constituency that is based in the coal mining sector. The one private coal fired power plant that was proposed to be built in South Africa is now no longer being built because the finance has been withdrawn. The first issue that we have with Minister Mantashe is his overwhelming support for the fossil fuel sector and his reluctance to open the market to renewable energy. We need to acknowledge that there is no appetite for investment in fossil fuels. Kevin Mileham, the Shadow Minister of Minerals and Energy, explains how the ANC blundered when appointing Gwede Mantashe to the portfolio responsible for SA’s electricity supply. Mileham says the ANC Elective Conference may well force Ramaphosa’s hand and force him to fire his long-time political ally.