President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to defend the proposed appointment of a new Minister of Electricity in the Presidency, amid concern that the appointee would have overlapping responsibilities with both the energy and public enterprises ministers that could result in “turf wars”. In his response to the debate on the State of the Nation Address, during which opposition parties slammed the proposed new ministerial post as both unnecessary and expensive, Ramaphosa said the energy crisis required effective coordination across several departments and public entities, which would be provided by the new Minister.
