[imagesource:X/@ParliamentofRSA]

“Load shedding isn’t the end of the world,” said the African National Congress (ANC) MP and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) deputy chair Sylvia Lucas.

This brazen and ‘illuminating’ remark was made in Afrikaans during the debate last Tuesday to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State Of The Nation Address (SONA).

“Load shedding isn’t the end of the world; as soon as you talk about load shedding, there is sabotage; we must look into that. So, president, go ahead with the good work,” said Lucas.

Hear it for yourself:

“loadshedding is not the end of world”
Sylvia Lucas Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP #SONA2024 Debate pic.twitter.com/vYCFdOyseS

— News Live SA (@newslivesa) February 13, 2024

Meanwhile, ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said Ramaphosa’s address was honest.

Do these people hate us?

We are all very much smack bang in the middle of unabated rolling blackouts, and not only is Sylvia telling us that the planned power cuts are not a biggie, but the ANC also believes the top chief’s address was an honest reflection of the state of South Africa.

Jacaranda FM notes how the country returned to severe power cuts just days after Ramaphosa’s speech, in which he announced that the end of load shedding is near.

A joke, surely. IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said the president failed to talk about the real crisis – “a country on autopilot”, with rampant service delivery issues and severe poverty.

“Millions of our children of democracy still live in shacks and informal settlements, with no clean water, toilets or refuse removal. Their only connection with Tintswalo is that she too sits vulnerable in the dark of stage 6 load shedding.”

While some Saffas and analysts criticised Ramaphosa’s address for lack of accountability for the government’s failures, others tore into Sylvia’s delusional remark, pointing out that it is easy for her to comment when she does not experience the severity of the rolling blackouts, per The Citizen.

That’s very easy to say when your very secure home is fitted with a taxpayer-funded generator.
Not when darkness and power cuts enable crime, harm people who need power for medical care, rot food in cash-strapped homes, destroy small businesses and makes everyday life miserable. pic.twitter.com/6TxG8Fvrsr

— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) February 13, 2024

5FM Radio personality and social commentator Dan Corder revealed some of the ways that load shedding is indeed the end of the world:

@dancorder They hate us #tiktoksouthafrica #southafrica #fyp ♬ original sound – Dan Corder

And ActionSA’s Athol Trollip commented on how “out of touch” ANC MPS are.

This confirms how out of touch and overwhelmed these thieving comrades are. Shame on you Sylvia Lucas. https://t.co/Nsgn2fg3EJ

— Athol Trollip (@AtholT) February 13, 2024

During the SONA, Ramaphosa promised the worst of the energy crisis was behind us, saying “We have delivered on our commitments to bring substantial new power through private investment onto the grid, which is already helping to reduce load shedding”.

He also admitted that load shedding had evoked “a lot of anger”, but said South Africans were resilient and hopeful of “a better time”.

These words quickly become meaningless when barely a day after the Sona address Eskom ramped up the power cuts to stage 6.

More like stage sies, man.

[source:citizen]