Johannesburg - With day two of the 55th ANC National Conference being dedicated to the adoption of credentials, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe has denied that the ANC had requested Eskom to exempt Nasrec Conference Centre from load shedding during the 55th ANC National Conference taking place there this weekend.
"The people who need to get their numbers first are the delegates, and this is their conference. The briefing on the numbers will be done by the secretary general’s office, which will give the numbers of credentials to the conference first before the conference will proceed," he said.
On the issue of load shedding, Mabe said reports in the media suggesting that the ANC had made a special request to Eskom were untrue.
Mabe was speaking during a press briefing at the media centre in Nasrec on Saturday, where he addressed some of the issues affecting the conference, as well as progress being made to ensure a smooth ANC national conference.
Mabe denied suggestions made by members of the media that the conference has been exempted from load shedding as the rest of the country is currently experiencing Stage 6 rolling blackouts. Mabe’s comments come as Eskom announced yet another bout of Stage 6 load shedding scheduled for Saturday, December 17.
"The reports that we have asked for load shedding exemption are not true. We are a very responsible organisation. It will never come right for the ANC to want to enjoy different rights from those of the rest of South Africa. It is an indictment actually on the performance of our leadership role. When we looked at the facilities to hire, we had to make sure that we booked a facility that had an alternative plan and electricity generation capacity for load shedding,“ he said.
Mabe said the ANC would never abuse its power to dictate to Eskom where and when it should implement load shedding.
"Are you trying to say that the people of Phalaborwa, uMlazi, and Soweto's electricity problems mean nothing to the ANC? You are saying the ANC has applied to Eskom because its conference is sitting and that the rest of the country can continue living without electricity? The ANC can't be exempted from the ANC while the people of Soweto are without electricity. This would be a state capture of another kind," Mabe said.
The Star