“We could have done an amazing, amazing model right here in South Africa,” said Tasneem Essop, executive director of
Closing any large industry is never easy — it requires skill to bring unions, political parties and other vested interests onside. Gwede Mantashe, the coal-supporting minister of mineral resources and energy, told the Green party politician that South Africans didn’t want to be the West’s guinea pig for the global energy transition.
They argue that the quickest way to do that is to fix the coal plants, which has the added benefit of preserving jobs and patronage networks. It can’t take on additional debt without Treasury permission and can only spend within narrow constraints.
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