Newly appointed Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said he was humbled by the confidence shown in him by Ramaphosa.
He said the country had a long road ahead to fix the energy crisis. But they needed to get down to work and ensure stable supply of electricity in the country.
Ramokgopa said he hoped the challenges facing the country in the energy crisis would be resolved.
“I am humbled by the vote of confidence given to me by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa as minister of electricity. We have a mammoth task ahead of us to resolve the energy crisis that confronts our country. In the immediate, we have a primary responsibility to turn around the performance of existing power stations and stabilise our energy supply whilst adding capacity to the grid,”
Eskom has been implementing power cuts over the last few months, with businesses losing billions of rand.
Ramaphosa announced last month that he was going to appoint a minister of electricity to deal with the energy crisis.
On the other hand, Deputy President-designate Paul Mashatile said he was looking forward to his role as leader of government of business and second in command at the Union Buildings.
This follows his appointment as deputy president of the country by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mashatile takes over from David Mabuza, who had indicated as early as February that he was leaving government as Mashatile had to come in after his election at Nasrec.
Mashatile was appointed with several ministers in the Cabinet shake-up by the president.
He was sworn in a few weeks ago in the national legislature with other members of the ANC.
“It is with great humility that I acknowledge the trust that members of the (ANC) have placed on my shoulders as the deputy president of the organisation that was key to my appointment as the deputy president of our country. I am prepared and willing to serve a greater cause to take the country forward,” said Mashatile.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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