Former President Thabo Mbeki’s deliberate misrepresentation of facts concerning the load-shedding crisis indicates a deliberate attempt to mislead and deceive. By refusing to acknowledge his government’s significant failure to address warnings about weakening energy generation and supply, he is strengthening a misleading narrative that exonerates him and his administration from responsibility. This distorted version of events is crafted to protect his reputation while sacrificing facts.
By Themba Khumalo
Thabo Mbeki’s relentless denial of the truth and reprehensible habit of deflecting responsibility onto others for the rampant load-shedding crisis is a glaring example of leadership incompetence and moral bankruptcy.
His deliberate refusal to acknowledge the magnitude of the loadshedding crisis and instead resorting to scapegoating tactics is a gross betrayal of public trust and a slap in the face to those suffering from the dire consequences of the ANC’s mismanagement.
Mbeki’s failure to address what was then a demonstrably impending energy crisis during his time in office shows a lack of foresight that has had severe consequences for the country. Instead of taking responsibility for his administration’s failures, he has opted for a charlatan’s trade of rewriting history in a feeble attempt to save face.
Even in the darkness brought by power outages, it is clear that he is more concerned with preserving his legacy than admitting to the catastrophic mistakes that have left South Africa in the dark.
In a pathetic attempt to wash his hands of any blame, Mbeki shamelessly denies any responsibility for ignoring warnings to invest in new generation capacity and infrastructure, calling it a fabricated lie. This spineless cop-out further highlights his incompetence and that of his organisation, leaving South Africa in a dire energy crisis that could have been prevented with proper planning and action.
Mbeki’s consistent deflection of responsibility onto Eskom for the load-shedding crisis reveals a stunning lack of accountability on his part. His tendency to make outrageous accusations, such as claiming that Eskom’s management intentionally caused the crisis by neglecting to replenish coal, demonstrates a severe disconnect from reality. It is alarming that a former president would resort to such baseless scapegoating instead of offering constructive solutions to address the root causes of the energy crisis.
“There is a particular false narrative that has attended to the electricity crisis, which has affected our country for some years. That narrative says Eskom warned the government as early as 1998 that if no immediate steps were taken to build the new generation capacity, the country would suffer from serious load shedding from 2007.” – Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki’s abrupt and unexplained reversal of his stance displays a disturbing lack of transparency and a blatant attempt to evade responsibility for his previous statements. He must offer a thorough and detailed justification for this sudden reversal in stance, especially considering his unequivocal stance on loadshedding back in 2007.
It is unacceptable for him to now backtrack without providing a clear and logical explanation for his apparent change of heart. The public deserves transparency and accountability from their leaders, not whimsical flip-flopping without any justification.
“When Eskom said to the government: ‘We think we must invest more in terms of electricity generation’, we said no, but all you will be doing is just to build excess capacity. We said not now, later. We were wrong. Eskom was right. We were wrong.” – Thabo Mbeki.
In December 1998, the Department of Minerals and Energy issued a White Paper cautioning that Eskom’s surplus generation capacity would probably be used up by around 2007. The report emphasised the need for prompt action to prevent a scenario where demand surpasses the supply capacity. This is in opposition to the misleading information spread by Mbeki, which appeared to be an attempt to shift blame away from the ANC for the significant failure to fulfil its duty during his time in office.
Such inconsistency erodes trust and credibility, raising concerns about Mbeki’s credibility and integrity.
The abysmal state of South Africa’s electricity crisis is a stark reminder of the catastrophic failures perpetuated by former President Mbeki and his cronies within the ANC administration. Their reckless policies and decisions have plunged the nation into a dire 16-year crisis typified by crippling financial losses, stagnant economic growth, and alarmingly high unemployment rates.
In a perfect society where ubuntu is cherished, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and Cyril Ramaphosa would have the humility to admit their incompetence and rampant corruption have brought the South African economy to its knees.
They would have the decency to apologise sincerely to the people who have endured their disastrous governance for far too long. However, it seems I am delusional to expect any sort of accountability from these political predators.