The government of national unity has brought about a new Cabinet and significant changes with it. What could some of these shifts hold for SA's energy and environmental policies?

Listen to this article 12 min Listen to this article 12 min On Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new Cabinet, to accommodate the formation of the government of national unity (GNU). Considering the potential impacts on SA's energy and environmental imperatives, the changes in the ministries of energy, the environment and water are of particular interest.

Energy portfolio

The energy portfolio has moved from Gwede Mantashe's hands (the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy he headed is now the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources) to Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who is now the minister of both electricity and energy.

"It is good to see energy and electricity as a distinct portfolio," said Harald Winkler, a professor at UCT's School of Economics. "While progress [was] made under Minister Ramokgopa on fixing the problems in Eskom that underlie load shedding, the efforts by the technical teams need to be sustained so that we get through winter and resolve the problems permanently."

Energy analyst and electrical engineer Chris Yelland welcomed the move.

"I think the performance of Gwede Mantashe as minister of mineral resources and energy was underwhelming," he said, adding that Mantashe had a lot on his plate as minister of...