A two-day Cabinet lekgotla to be held in Pretoria this week will focus on economic growth and the predicament of the country's state-owned enterprises - and is expected to provide an indication of the focus of Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) in two weeks’ time.
Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu said that the lekgotla would, among others, examine Eskom's power generation difficulties and the financial crisis at South African Airways and other SOEs. “Energy generation will be discussed in the meeting as the government believes you cannot successfully grow the economy if you do not have a reliable energy supply. In an attempt to lessen the pressure for Eskom to provide electricity, the ANC lekgotla last week approved plans for municipalities to procure their own energy, making way for the independent power producers (IPP) programme,” said Mthembu.
“The nation wants to know what we, as government, will be doing this year and what action plans we are going to be putting in place. This lekgotla is therefore very important in making preparations for the articulation of the State of the Nation Address,” said Mthembu. - Zoë van Rooyen
