Volkswagen frustrated by govt inaction on power crisis

President Cyril Ramaphosa on a recent visit to Volkswagen 's Kariega plant. From the left: Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thembi Nkadimeng, Volkswagen SA chair Martina Biene, Ramaphosa and Lutendo Khavhadi, head of production at the plant. Photo: Lulama Zenzile

While there’s been a two-month hiatus in the power cuts that have plagued South Africa since 2008, no long-term solution has been presented to carmakers despite a tour of plants by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Volkswagen’s local head said. The uncertainty over electricity supply, caused by the poor maintenance of the state power utility’s coal-fired plants, increases the cost of running the facility compared with VW’s more than 100 sites across the world, making it hard to argue for additional investment, she said. While Biene welcomed the current lull in outages, she said the 165 000-car-per-year plant in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape province, had already spent R130 million on generators.

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