The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have called for a commission of inquiry into load shedding, with party leader Julius Malema claiming economic sabotage when trying to shut down coal-fired power plants.
Speaking at the EFF's electoral conference in Johannesburg on Friday, Mr Malema spoke of state-led policies to expand Eskom's power generation capacity, reverse privatization and invest in building more coal-fired power plants. emphasized the need.
“Collapsing infrastructure”
Malema blames poor policy choices for South Africa's ongoing economic crisis. He cited challenges such as low economic growth, power crisis, logistics collapse and infrastructure collapse.
The EFF leader argues that weak policies over the past 15 years have led to stagnant growth, high unemployment, particularly among women and young people, and reduced public investment, resulting in the collapse of vital services and the economy.
“Over the past 15 years, we have seen a 24% decline in public investment by central government and public enterprises. This decline in public investment is directly contributing to the collapse of the country's infrastructure, critical services and economy. It is this decline that is leading to the collapse of power generation capacity, the collapse of logistics and transportation networks, the collapse of water infrastructure, and the collapse of telecommunications services.”
The EFF said it was satisfied with the way Eskom's current management had turned the organization around, but remained concerned about the direction of the country's energy policy.
“We call for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the burden relief that our people have suffered for over a decade while they burned oil and profited from IPPs. We need to know who was behind it,” Malema added.
The EFF said the country was hit with economic sabotage when it tried to shut down power plants under the belief that they were reaching the end of their lifespans.
EFF Selection Meeting – EFF calls for inquiry into load shedding.
