The African National Congress (ANC) has said it will lead a campaign against illegal electricity connections to eliminate load reduction, which it says is placing an added burden on communities, and the party wants South Africans to join energy-saving initiatives to alleviate the stress on the national grid.

Delivering the party’s January 8 statement on Sunday, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said the insecurity of electricity supply continues to be one of the greatest impediments to economic recovery and disrupts the lives of all South Africans.

“We will continue implementing the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 which includes the procurement of over 18 000 MW of new generation capacity. This includes ensuring investment resources mobilised through the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan are used to speedily upgrade Eskom’s transmission network to facilitate entry of new generation capacity,” he said.

The ANC has also resolved to reduce its carbon emissions and highlighted that the transition must be just and inclusive and assure the welfare of those workers, communities and industries most affected by the transition.

“Just transition plans that address the interests of workers and communities must be developed for all sectors of the economy and regions of the country, particularly for the most affected provinces like Mpumalanga,” Ramaphosa said.

The party also urged Eskom and government to immediately focus on restoring additional units to operation as quickly as possible and to undertake critical maintenance of power plants.

It said Eskom should ensure that power stations have skilled and experienced personnel; tackle sabotage, theft and corruption at power stations; and streamline procurement processes.

“The Eskom board needs to recruit world-class professionals to fill the vacancies in executive management,” Ramaphosa acknowledged.

To further reduce stress on the national grid, government and Eskom must enforce demand management measures to reduce electricity consumption and ensure available energy is directed to areas and sectors of priority including support for health and educational institutions and municipal infrastructure, he said.

“Government should secure additional power in the short term by leveraging surplus capacity from existing generators and procuring additional power on an emergency basis,” he added.

Meanwhile, as the party builds an “outward-looking ANC” with a clear programme that is responsive to the needs of South Africans, the ANC is urging all its structures to focus on putting people and solutions to their daily struggles first.

“The journey of renewal has to begin in earnest and become unstoppable and irreversible so that we pay attention to and direct all our energies to the resolution of the pressing problems facing the people of South Africa,” Ramaphosa said.

EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

The ANC wants broad-based black economic empowerment to be undertaken with greater intensity. It said competition policy, preferential procurement and other instruments to address highly concentrated ownership patterns must be used.

“There is vast untapped potential for inclusive growth and employment creation in small, medium and micro Enterprises (SMMEs), cooperatives and informal businesses. Our conference called on government to remove the regulatory constraints on SMMEs and to support micro enterprises and cooperatives in the township and rural economies through the creation of trading spaces and industrial parks; access to value-chains and finance for small and independent retailers and wholesalers; and the provision of roads, digital connectivity and other economic infrastructure,” said Ramaphosa.

CRIME AND CORRUPTION

Having acknowledged the disturbing reality that there is a breakdown of basic security as a result of rising levels of lawlessness, criminality and violence, the ANC says it will take steps to strengthen law enforcement agencies and citizen involvement to restore peace and stability across the country.

Ramaphosa said the creation of conditions of peace and stability and guaranteeing safety and security to the people is one of the central pillars of the ANC’s vision for a national democratic society.

The ANC wants communities and citizens to cooperate and partner with the police and law enforcement agencies to create safer and more secure communities through effective and well-resourced community policing forums and community patrollers.

“The ANC calls on and directs the national government to take urgent steps to enhance the crime-fighting capacity of law enforcement agencies by increasing the number of police personnel to match our country’s population increase, in line with international norms. Urgent steps must also be taken to rebuild the capacity of law enforcement agencies and other institutions of the criminal justice system which were weakened by state capture and corruption,” Ramaphosa said.

Further, the ANC wants government to immediately adopt and implement a National Plan of Action to deal with rising levels of crime such as kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, gangsterism, illegal mining, construction mafia, wanton vandalism of public infrastructure and border security.