LETTER: Nothing remotely Zelensky-like in Ramaphosa’s sona

Ukraine and SA have load-shedding in common. But that’s where the similarity ends. Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure is being demolished by Russian missiles, its power stations attacked and its grid disconnected from Russia’s.

Yet the electrical personnel at Ukrenergo and DTEK, working 24 hour shifts in subzero temperatures, sometimes under fire, restore power within 24 hours of strikes and synchronised the grid with Europe’s in record time. Like soldiers, they are hailed as heroes.

Eskom, on the other hand, with its bloated workforce, has destroyed itself from within. Last Thursday’s state of the nation address was President Cyril Ramaphosa’s chance to persuade us that SA’s self-inflicted electricity disaster could be rectified by his ANC government.

Deep down we wanted to believe that. But he maintained the illusion that bureaucratic manipulations are the same as real decisions, that long rambling speeches are better than short ones, and that describing manufactured successes will reduce our pain.

There was nothing  remotely Zelensky-like in Ramaphosa's delivery; just two hours of aimless babble preceded by 45 minutes of juvenile discord.

International opinion, revealed by a weakened rand, is that Ramaphosa and his cohorts won’t solve the Eskom problem. That it is essentially a "Fubar" situation. Until we really understand this, nothing will change. As long as the ANC is allowed to remain in office there can be no hope of repair.

James Cunningham
Camps Bay

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