Way forward, Committee Programme

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone and indicated that this meeting will discuss the way forward for the Committee.

Apologies were noted.

The Chairperson reminded Members about the rules for virtual meetings.

The Chairperson outlined the vision of the Committee’s continued function and objectives. He referred to the 2023 overview of provincial revenue and expenditure that Members received as part of their recent budget package and pointed out the Government’s energy plan and energy resilience programme highlighted there.

He proposed that the Committee focus on two aspects of the energy resilience programme: operational execution and financial management. The latter aspect detailed the financial plan for the energy resilience programme, which was:

• Reduced reliance on Eskom;
• Disaster mitigation and management;
• Strategic planning and development;
• Demand style management;
• Generation procurement;
• Trading of low carbon energy; and
• Maintenance of expansion required for grid infrastructure.

The Chairperson invited comments from members.

Mr C Dugmore (ANC) requested clarity on the purpose of the meeting and the intention of the Chairperson’s introduction. He asked why Premier Alan Winde, the special advisor on energy to the Premier, Mr Alwie Lester, and the newly appointed national Minister of Electricity, Mr Sputla Ramokgopa, had been invited to present the energy resilience plan to the Committee.

Mr F Christians (ACDP) responded that the meeting was to plan and discuss the rules of engagement. He also recommended that the Committee compile a list of key role players to invite to future meetings and that the Committee structure the way forward regarding meeting dates and times.

Ms N Nkondlo (ANC) said that they could learn lessons from the COVID ad hoc committee which can be utlitised to develop a framework on how to drive the Committee’s work, in relation to the operation, oversight principles and approach.   The Committee should first agree on the understanding of the task and establish a scope of work and terms of reference. This can include some of what the Chairperson said in his opening remarks.

She agreed with the Chairperson’s recommendation to outline key stakeholders for engagement, frequency, and agenda of meetings.

She said that the energy crisis related to the work conducted by the Premier and municipalities in the past financial year. The Committee should extract the issues for oversight from this body of work. Further, the report from Ms Mireille Wenger, Member of the Executive Council (MEC) also informed the oversight required.

The Chairperson said he had had an initial discussion with the Premier on the latter’s role in the Committee. He had supported inviting Mr Lester to the next meeting and had his contact details. He also had the contact details of Ms Kaashifah Beukes, Chief Executive Officer: Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) Licencing Company. They would be critical role players in future meetings. He, therefore, agreed that Mr Winde, Mr Lester, and Mr Ramokgopa would be invited to give an overview of the status of the energy crisis in South Africa and the Western Cape, to outline their plans for mitigating the impact of rolling blackouts on the province, and to give an update on the provincial government’s plans to make the Western Cape load shedding-free.

Mr Dugmore responded to Ms Nkondlo’s submission and asked the Secretariat to share the final report of the previous meeting.

He said that South Africa faced a crisis which required all spheres of government, business, labour and community organisations to work together to find solutions. The municipal energy resilience project initially supported various municipalities. There was a national energy plan. What was in the budget for the province?

He said the Committee should decide what presenters’ platform would provide a national, provincial, and local picture of energy crisis interventions. The Committee should monitor these interventions, how the money was being expended, and provide recommendations accordingly.

Mr Christians said that members should provide names of role players for the procedural office’s urgent attention and action. The Premier should be the first name on the list and starting point for the subsequent discussion. He emphasised the need for the Committee to be an effective oversight body focused on the issue of resolving the energy crisis. The Premier had previously committed himself, his executive, and the provincial energy council to account before the Committee. He was hopeful that the Minister of Electricity would accept the invitation in the interest of cooperation and accountability.

Ms Nkondlo supported the proposal to extend the first invitation to the political head of the province, the Premier and the Special Advisor on Energy, for their direct engagement, contextualisation and guidance on the energy crisis. Formulating a consensus on the energy crisis thematic areas, oversight priorities and reporting objectives was essential. The multi-sectoral stakeholder approach -- including governmental, non-governmental, national, provincial and local entities -- would be utilised for the next invitations and discussions. 

Ms A Cassiem (EFF) agreed that the involvement of the different spheres of government was required. Furthermore, she outlined the importance of engaging with the independent power producers (IPPs) to understand the following aspects of its operation:

• The benefits to municipalities;
• Surface-level agreements for continuity and availability;
• Contractual terms for purchasing electricity from the IPPs;
• Affordability of electricity costs for poor communities;
• The Black economic empowerment (BEE) status of the IPPs;
• Modules on the sites built by IPPs (or built by their service providers) for purchasing electricity by municipalities;
• Modules on the sites built by IPPs and handed over to municipalities for management; and
• The oversight of wastewater treatment.

Mr A van der Westhuizen (DA) welcomed the mutual understanding of the Committee’s role. He proposed that written inputs to the Chairperson and procedural officer follow the discussion.

He noted concerns about the disruption of service delivery by the power supply challenges at the provincial level. For example, schools, client desks, and residents in general, were affected. Understanding how the various government departments were also involved would be imperative.

He shared his experience of visiting a Home Affairs office, where he had experienced long queues outside. However, he received had timely assistance despite load shedding, as the office had a backup power supply. Thus, it would be essential to determine whether other departments and schools had similar backup power facilities in the provincial service delivery points.

At the local government level, he questioned how the energy crisis would be resolved. Would local municipality renewable energy, rooftop solar, and incentive policies play a key role?

Similarly, he asked what solutions would be provided by the Western Cape to the national energy crisis. The province had to engage with the national authorities and supplement the national energy plan. This was required to show support to the national government.

Mr P Marais (FF+) said there was no direct democracy in South Africa. There were levels of authority, financing, and responsibility. He asked where the “buck stops,” and who controlled the funding. South Africa had three national ministers managing Eskom.

The Committee should allow the national authorities to engage with non-governmental organisations (NGOs). He cautioned that engaging with several NGOs and the public would result in several solutions. The starting point was rather ministerial guidance. He referred to the guidance from former President Nelson Mandela, that sometimes a leader walked in front of the people to lead them, and sometimes a leader walked behind the people to push them. Sometimes, a leader walked next to his people.

Before seeking advice from various stakeholders, the Committee must establish its mandate and terms of reference.

Mr Christians stated that he valued all the inputs from Members. He emphasised the importance of the matter at hand, namely the energy crisis and dedicated finances to resolve the crisis.

He referenced the Premier and Provincial Minister’s statements that the province would attempt to resolve the matter, and that there were plans to reduce reliance on Eskom. He reiterated the urgency to invite the Premier and his special adviser to the next meeting to enforce the Committee’s oversight role effectively.

Mr Dugmore reminded the Members that names should be submitted for the constituency of the panel for the first meeting with the Premier. Suggestions for a series of topics to be discussed should be submitted. He provided the following vital examples of topics:

• Updated provincial investment and municipal reports;
• Energy function location;
• Initiatives emanating from amended regulations on the role of municipalities in generating electricity;
• Financial impact if municipalities were no longer able to generate revenue from the power supply; and
• Energy mix in the province.

He said that he agreed, in a narrow sense, that the Committee’s oversight pertained to budgets. However, proper engagement and proposals required keeping the bigger picture in mind.

The Chairperson summarised the critical inputs from Members which requested the Premier, the special advisor on energy to the Premier, and the National Minister of Electricity, to outline the provincial and national plans to address the energy crisis. The Covid-19 report would serve as the background document to prepare for the meeting with those mentioned above.

He noted the importance of Ms Cassiem’s questions and asked whether the questions should be submitted before or during the meeting.

Ms Cassiem responded that the questions should be submitted before the meeting, and they would follow up on any questions that still needed to be answered during the session.

The Chairperson took note of the response. He added that he had attended a budget meeting of the Premier where it was recorded that the energy packs for the lower Living Standards Measure (LSM) groups would be rolled out before winter. He was concerned that this might be an overly ambitious aim. Thus, it would be essential to ask the Premier to provide an update on progress.

Mr Van der Westhuizen agreed with the Chairperson’s summation. He reiterated that Members should provide written inputs on the mandate for formal approval and adoption before the proposed meeting.

The Chairperson added that the procedural officer should utilise the modus operandi of the Covid-19 ad hoc committee in drafting the terms of reference.

Ms Nkondlo recommended that the submission of inputs should be prioritised by the end of the week.

The Chairperson responded that members would be travelling due to the long weekend. He asked Members to provide inputs by 13 April. The Premier would be invited to address the Committee in either the weeks of 17 or 24 April.

Mr Van der Westhuizen suggested that the parliamentary and constituency calendar programme would provide further guidance on available dates.

Mr Christians supported the submissions on the dates. He added that scheduling committee dates should also consider the Members’ responsibilities. He asked that meetings be effective and allocate adequate time for concerted discussions.

Mr Marais asked Members to be mindful of what the Committee’s mandate should encompass. What did the state of disaster mean? What forces came into play? What powers could be accessed, and how could they be exercised regarding the President's declaration of a state of disaster (not emergency)?

Mr Van der Westhuizen suggested the default option was for the Committee to meet virtually.

The Chairperson said that the Committee needed to be allocated a budget, and virtual meetings would be required. Members would be requested to submit inputs and recommendations in the next seven days on the draft programme and questions for the meeting with the Premier.

Mr Marais emphasised that the public should be informed of the Committee’s work, as the energy crisis was a substantial challenge.

The Chairperson agreed that the procedural officer would liaise with the stakeholder and communication services department. The notice of the meeting would be published. The media stories would be monitored to gauge what media were interested in the matters discussed.

Committee matters

The Committee considered the draft minutes of 14 March 2023.

The minutes were unanimously approved and adopted as a true reflection of the meeting.

The Chairperson thanked Members for their attendance. 

The meeting was adjourned.