SA won’t need electricity minister by end of 2024

South African Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said an anticipated improvement in electricity supply should see him out of a job by the end of 2024.The country, which has been plagued by crippling power cuts, will get an additional 6 000 megawatts of supply from state sources by the end of the year, Ramokgopa told an infrastructure conference organised by Ninety One Plc in Johannesburg yesterday.

“There will not be a need for this ministry by the end of the year,” he said.

“I will be the happiest person within three months. More and more you will wake up to a hot bath. Much later a cooked meal at home.”

Ramokgopa was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to help resolve the 15-year power crisis last year.

Outages, often lasting 10 hours or more daily, have slowed economic growth and have become a lightning rod for criticism of the ruling African National Congress’s management of the economy in the run-up to national elections in May.

Within about a week, the government and the state power utility, Eskom, will announce how private investors can participate in an expected R390 billion (US$21 billion) expansion of the national transmission grid, Ramokgopa said. — Bloomberg.