The announcement by the new South African government to decouple the Ministries of Minerals and Energy represents a symbolic shift away from a troubled legacy.
Civil society has long called for splitting the incongruous pair into departments with their own clear and distinct mandates. However, jubilation must be tempered as we consider the ideological and practical implications of the decision for the Zuma-led government, which is emphasising the strengthening of institutions and has, through the ANC’s Polokwane declaration, put climate change as a key item in its agenda.
A challenging time lies ahead for the Ministry of Energy in creating a new department in a rapidly deteriorating physical environment. Tough choices must be made as the ramifications also go well beyond the Department to fundamentally reorganising power relations in our country as well as confronting the premise and trajectory of our current development model. But the rewards for creating benchmarks for sustainable, socially just future would be well worth the struggle.
Source: ISS
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