EDITORIAL: Mantashe’s ship of fools

Gwede Mantashe — the minister of mineral resources & energy who seems to relish his role as an obstacle to progress in both sectors — is now spoiling for a fight with “environmentalists” over their opposition to the curious Karpowership deal.

Mantashe seems to think it’s only greenies that have a problem with him giving a 20-year deal to the Turkish supplier. These rabid anti-agents, he says, “veto every development they don’t like” and can “take us to court as many times as they can, we will continue”.

But the minister is entirely wrong if he believes it is only environmentalists — rather than a much wider group of citizens — who have a problem with the state splurging at least R200bn and as much as R500bn on a 20-year contract to supply a measly 1,220MW of energy a year. When the contract is up this power supplier would steam away, leaving us with just an enormous bill and a despoiled marine environment to show for it.

The 1,220MW deal was signed in 2019 under a government programme to add 2,000MW to the national grid under various 20-year contracts. That deal was then blocked by a series of legal challenges.

There are other options that the government should rather exploit, not least of them a concerted solar rollout that would leave the infrastructure in the hands of the state. Even if the government were to get its way, reports suggest that Karpowerships could take from four months to a year to start providing electricity. So much for emergency supply.