National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete has refused the DA's request that the National Assembly be reconvened to deal with the energy crisis, saying existing committees could take up the matter. The DA also wanted an ad hoc committee to be established to look into the causes of, and solutions to, the crisis. The party has its own proposals on how deal with it. In a letter sent on Tuesday to DA chief whip John Steenhuisen, Mbete agreed that the prevailing energy crisis was a "very serious matter" for the country but noted that there were existing portfolio committees empowered to deal with Eskom issues, including the public enterprises committee, which conducted an extensive inquiry into Eskom in 2018. In a statement outlining Mbete's position, parliament said that "the relevant committees could, therefore, take up the matter if needed and there was no need for the National Assembly to be reconvened at this point. Even if an ad hoc committee was required, such would not require the Ho...

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