Minister Phaahla: No load shedding for hospitals please
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla wants hospitals to be exempted from load shedding.
The Department of Health has provided Eskom with a list of 213 hospitals to be considered for possible exclusion during load shedding, and 76 of those facilities have been exempted.
Phaahla revealed this during a media briefing on Friday, 3 March.
He was one of the ministers who gave an update on the National Disaster Management Regulations amid the country’s energy crises.
The National State of Disaster was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his 2023 State of the Nation Address, and declared by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 9 February.
[Read] Health Min, Dr Joe Phaahla, says he hopes the alternative energy supply and exemption of essential hospitals from load shedding will be sped up after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster regarding the ongoing load shedding https://t.co/V5SEb7JD87 pic.twitter.com/px6g9CKOx2
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) March 3, 2023
Phaahla said the National State of Disaster will help to accelerate the implementation of immediate necessary practical interventions to minimise the impact of load shedding on the provision of essential health services.
He said these interventions will include the installation of required electricity infrastructure in priority areas where health facilities are imbedded on the grid with many Eskom clients, which makes it difficult to exempt them.
“Other low-to-medium interventions include the rollout of generators, solar panels, and uninterrupted power supply systems the National Department of Health has been engaging with relevant authorities and external donors for financial support, including National Treasury to acquire these much-needed resources for health facilities and improving the quality of service-provision across the country,” said Phaahla.
Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said as the National Energy Crisis Committee, they wanted to provide practical measures to support businesses in the food production, storage, and retail supply chain, including for the rollout of generators, solar panels, and uninterrupted power supply.
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has assured South Africans that measures have been put in place to prevent the misuse of emergency funds.
She said the Auditor-General and Parliament, as set out in the regulations, will monitor the use of funds.
-daily sun
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