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Today, the ANC was finally left with no choice but to accede to the DA’s long-time demand to declare Eskom an ANC-made disaster zone. With more than a decade of loadshedding already having wiped billions off the economy, the reality that the ANC turned our electricity system into an unmitigated disaster appears to finally be sinking in.

The DA re-emphasises our long-held position that any declaration of a State of Disaster should be strictly ring-fenced around Eskom and the electricity sector. Most importantly, such a declaration must be subject to complete and transparent parliamentary oversight.

Properly implemented, a ring-fenced and transparently-managed State of Disaster can enable government to bypass its own self-imposed obstacles, bottlenecks and cost inflation in the form of unworkable labour legislation, localisation requirements and BEE.

However, full and complete transparency and parliamentary oversight will be required along every step of the way to prevent a repeat of the PPE looting frenzy during the Covid-19 State of Disaster. With this in mind, the DA will immediately write to the Speaker of the National Assembly requesting her to ensure this matter is urgently tabled in Parliament.

Issued by Kevin Mileham MP - DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy