Metals and Engineering Industry engage on how to power South Africa's economic recovery

22nd April 2021

The Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba, which takes place on 24 and 25 May at the IDC Auditorium in Sandton, Johannesburg will probe the state of South Africa’s power supply, with a session that will review Eskom’s impact on the economy and assess the difference that other sources of power can make on the economy.

Chief Executive Officer of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Kaizer Nyatsumba said with rising electricity tariffs and constant loadshedding negatively affecting the Metals and Engineering (M&E) sector, it is crucial for all stakeholders to constructively engage on how Government and Eskom are progressing on efforts to reform the embattled state utility, while also looking at what can be done to speed up the procurement of alternative sources of power.

“South Africa’s economy has been battered over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other long-standing challenges and the Government should be commended for its commitment to revive the economy through initiatives such as the infrastructure investment plan and the various master plans including the Steel Master Plan. However, it is important to reiterate that these recovery plans will need adequate, reliable and affordable power supply to succeed,” Mr Nyatsumba said.

“The Metal and Engineering Indaba’s plenary session on Eskom, power generation and the economy will, therefore, provide a platform for a very crucial conversation to collectively come up with solutions to adequately power our economic recovery,” he said.

Speakers in this session include Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, energy expert Ted Blom and Secretary-General of the South African Independent Power Producers Association Dave Long.