Mantashe tells businesses in South Africa to ‘stop crying’
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe says the private sector in South Africa should collaborate with the government in finding solutions instead of ‘just crying’ when things go wrong.
This sentiment was voiced during his address at the Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town, which specifically touched on concerns over South Africa’s gas and electricity supply, responding to business groups and experts in the field who sounded the alarm about the country running out of gas in the next two years.
In his written speech, the Minister said the government had noted concerns from businesses and citizens regarding the current and future gas supply in the South African market due to commercial disputes between Sasol and its customers.
However, he said there are plans in place to address the shortage.
The CEF subsidiary, iGas, has acquired an additional 40% ownership of the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (ROMPCO) pipeline.
This acquisition now means that both South Africa and Mozambique have joint ownership of 80% of the pipeline.
Additionally, South Africa has entered into a gas sales agreement with the Mozambican State-owned hydrocarbon company, which has the potential to deliver up to 200 petajoules of natural gas.
South Africa has also made “significant new finds of natural gas,” according to the Minister.
The recent discovery of gas reserves by TotalEnergies in the Outeniqua Basin and Kinetiko Energy in Amersfoort, Mpumalanga, are significant steps towards strengthening South Africa’s energy security and advancing the country’s industrialization efforts, leading to growth and development.
These are part of the overall plan on the part of the state, said Manashe, hinting at room for the private sector to come to the table and collaborate with the state.
“When we make those discoveries, you often find the projects aren’t run by the state but by private sector companies,” said Mantashe.
“And the state is quite comfortable supporting those companies because it’s not about government vs the private sector; it’s about cooperation.
“So the private sector [private businesses] must be a willing participant, not just a crying baby who asks where the government is when things go wrong – no,” said Mantashe.
He added that when something goes wrong in any sector, the problem is with the state and the businesses involved – both parties are responsible for fixing the problems.
He further stated that although the nation is frustrated with the issue of load shedding, the discussion about power cuts that aim to safeguard the grid often disregards the issue of “energy poverty” and the government’s efforts over the last thirty years to enhance access to electricity.
The DMRE, including under Mantashe, has been one of the biggest impediments to private-sector electricity generation in recent history. The minister was forced by president Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021 to open up the electricity market – too late to prevent the worst levels of load shedding on record.
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