Situation Analysis of the Status Quo of South Africa’s New Energy Strategy
The near future poses significant challenges in the form of a power crisis for the countries of South Africa. Lack of industrial infrastructure is already making itself felt as many cities in the region are experiencing periodic load-shedding. With the support of global organizations, the government has developed and launched a new approach to exploiting the country’s electrical resources to prevent the impending energy and infrastructure crisis. The first stages of implementing the new energy policy, legislative and financial ones, went smoothly without any disturbances. However, currently, there are some obstacles, most of them of internal nature, which hinder the further process of implementing new electricity generating facilities. These are the conflict of key public policymakers and the diverging perspectives of government and global stakeholders on the nature of South Africa’s future energy industry.
Key Stakeholders, Their Relationships and Influence on New Public Energy Policy
The Minister of Public Enterprises and his work team should consider the three main stakeholders in this policy. Each of them already influences the adoption and implementation process of the new energy perspective and may affect it in the following years. Two stakeholders are public policymakers, namely the current Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and the CEO of Eskom. The former believes that the future of South Africa’s energy sector lies with fossil fuels and power ships. The latter argues that the recent power plant disruptions were caused by sabotage by the Department of Mineral Resources. The last influential stakeholder to be considered is the United Nations, which has provided loan finances to the government and is pushing for the construction of renewable energy infrastructure.
The Need for a Combined Approach to the Development of Power Industry Development of South Africa
The Minister of Public Enterprises is advised to take a combined approach to further adopting and implementing the new energy vision. Both renewable energy power plants and those that use fossil fuels to generate electricity would be built. Such tactics would allow the government to both include the vision of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy in the policy and continue to enjoy the financial and expert support of the UN. It would also provide the country with two types of infrastructures that will enhance its current and future energy security. It is also necessary to address the concerns of the CEO of Eskom. It is advised to investigate recent sabotage activities with the participation of experts from all related parties to resolve the growing conflict of interest.
Potential Dangers to the Success of the New Energy Infrastructure Policy
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy’s strong insistence on the use of fossil fuels poses a risk to the successful implementation of the country’s new energy policy. It could lead to the termination of cooperation and support from the UN and the rapid technological obsolescence of the energy infrastructure. Another thing dangerous to the new energy vision is the concerns of the CEO of Eskom, which were described above. Non-being addressed, they could lead to mistrust and conflicts between key public figures responsible for new energy projects. These could lead to policy failure, stagnation, degradation, and destruction of South Africa’s energy infrastructure.