Gwede Mantashe

BLOEMFONTEIN - Minister of mineral resources and energy Gwede Mantashe, says he is not a coal fundamentalist, but rather a realist when it comes to the ...

“We can’t go on like this… Mantashe, who has publicly expressed scepticism in transitioning from coal to renewable energy, said the focus should be on the better managing Eskom’s power plants. Mantashe said the focus should be on better managing Eskom’s power plants.

Gwede Mantashe said he's not a coal fundamentalist and is open-minded about the energy issues facing the country. SA disagreed and said he's not a thinker.

Get renewable ready with a 48000-megawatt pilot to see if it is sustainable during winter and summer then you can switch off coal plants." [party touched on the country’s energy crisis](https://briefly.co.za/politics/150374-anc-admits-loadshedding-hindering-south-africas-economic-growth-leaving-mzansi-eyerolling/) during the ANC’s Economic Dialogue on economic reforms and energy [security](https://briefly.co.za/29510-list-security-companies-south-africa.html) in the Mangaung Region on Friday, 6 January. "We can’t go on like this… How do we resolve that?" Briefly News reported that the African National Congress (ANC) has admitted that the effects of loadshedding are hindering South Africa's economic growth. [TimesLIVE](https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2023-01-06-im-no-coal-fundamentalist-im-a-balanced-energy-thinker-gwede-mantashe-hits-back-at-critics/), Mantashe has been vocal in the past that abandoning coal power stations to renewable energy was not the best solution for solving the energy crisis in the country.

'Not a coal fundamentalist'. In a brief address, Mantashe, the minister of mineral resources and energy, remarked on whether load-shedding was “an energy crisis ...

“We should not be hasty to communicate a message that threatens employment in the coal mining sector, that threatens employment in the agricultural sector … “It has to be what is our economic vision and that economic vision … “We have an energy crisis of our own that requires us not to be compelled or pushed by any other external powers to move away from our abundant resources and we should be bold to state that we require baseload from coal … We are at an extraordinarily challenging place because of our fleet failing to meet the energy availability factor that would enable economic growth,” she said. We have seen reports that the global West is resuscitating their fossil fuel resources to deal with their energy crisis. “Load-shedding is basically because of the failing fleet … “I’m worried that the president announced this good plan but … “When you do long-term planning, the plan must be robust enough to be adapted for the changing conditions.” Some of these power stations have not been properly maintained in the past, so what needs to happen is basically renewal … “Being a former minister of tourism, for example, I would know that events companies, people who are in the hospitality sector, are battling,” Kubayi said. Jacob Mbele, the director-general in the department of mineral resources and energy, told delegates that there is no policy uncertainty regarding renewable energy. These are some of the things that are affecting us as society.

South Africa is the world's 13th-biggest source of greenhouse gases, with 45% of its annual 452 million tons of emissions coming from electricity generation.

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ANC national chairperson and energy minister Gwede Mantashe takes exception to people who have branded him a 'coal fundamentalist' for his position on the ...

Is it a peaking crisis?” he asked. Is it a baseload crisis? Is it an energy crisis?

Chairman says party needs more time for consultation before processing the decision for state-owned enterprises to be moved to line ministries.

“Now you want me to preempt that, it can’t work that way. [Jabu Mabuza](https://mg.co.za/opinion/2021-06-18-obituary-jabu-mabuza-was-so-much-more-than-a-taxi-driver-at-eskom/), who had acted in the position after previous chief executive [ Phakamani Hadebe](https://mg.co.za/article/2018-05-24-gordhan-appoints-new-faces-in-soe-boards/) left at the end of July 2019. [who last July said the Eskom boss](https://mg.co.za/politics/2022-07-22-alpha-ceo-andre-de-ruyter-is-not-the-fixer-eskom-needs-says-gwede-mantashe/) and the board may not have the skills needed to revive the ailing power utility. [ quit in December](https://mg.co.za/news/2022-12-14-eskom-boss-de-ruyter-quits-amid-acute-electricity-crunch/) in the midst of the most acute rolling blackouts South Africa has had since Eskom first implemented load-shedding in 2007 to avoid overwhelming the national grid in the face of power generation constraints. He added that the board must weigh the requirements of the utility and appoint a person with the prerequisite skills to run Eskom. “The board that is at Eskom will conduct interviews but they will ultimately come to the cabinet, that is how it works,” Mantashe said.