LETTER: SA’s existence as a modern state is in peril

The word “crisis” derives from the Greek words “to decide”. We have a power crisis. There is not enough electricity. It’s time for decisions.             

In a democracy, decisions of national import are made by the head of state and his cabinet. Our head of state is Cyril Ramaphosa. The decisions Ramaphosa must make relate to building capacity for energy transmission and generation.

To the extent that new power lines from the Northern and Eastern Cape will be delayed for years by the lengthy process of obtaining servitudes, this should be addressed by granting  government emergency powers. A formula for fair compensation  for landowners should be developed and applied without lengthy negotiations.

Similarly, it is not rational that offshore exploration rights for gas and oil are indefinitely delayed via endless contestations by aggrieved parties. We desperately need gas and oil to generate  electricity.

The very existence of SA as a modern state is at stake. Emergency powers should therefore be conferred on government to expedite the development of gas and oilfields. Laws governing property and environmental rights were designed for a stable society, not for one facing collapse.

Now is the time for the president and his cabinet to act, using their parliamentary majority. It is unlikely that the official opposition would stand in their way.

Willem Cronje
Cape Town

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