You know, as I sit to ponder what would become of our country after loadshedding, a historical account of a 16-year-old girl by the name of Nongqawuse comes to mind.
Nongqawuse was a prophetess who instructed the chief of her tribe to direct his subjects to slaughter their cattle in what is today remembered as the Cattle Killing Movement and Famine of 1856-1857.
When they heard the story, some of the elders in the community had reservations about the prophecy but over time, they relented to the charm offensive of the prophetess.
It was later discovered that behind this ploy was the hidden hand by the colonisers to starve the natives who at the time were self-sufficient and coerced them into subjugation.
As I write this, another Nongqawuse moment has engulfed our nation disguised as the struggle between the use of fossil fuels and the so-called Just Energy Transition.
Proponents of the Just Energy Transition are of the view that the government must ditch the use of coal to generate electricity to power the grid as they consider coal to be harmful to the environment.
To achieve this cunning plan, existing power stations which were constructed at huge expense should be decommissioned (e. g. Komati Power Station). Few of which shall be left in operation shall have to be privatized to serve the export market ('the colonisers').
Realists like myself, who are often dismissed as sceptics, are of the view that the country must use what it has in abundance, coal. They are also of the view that the transition to so-called 'clean' energy must not interrupt transmission.
Now, what is interesting is that just like in 1856, the colonisers (Britain, France, Germany and the US) are behind this ploy, and the latter-day Nongqawuses, are the politicians across the political divide.
As a country, we are once again witnessing our leaders being duped by the colonisers, this time around, not to slaughter our cattle but to decommission our power stations and endure load shedding in the hope that someday in the future, solar energy will be the solution to the electricity crisis.
If you ask me, this is Nongqawuse reloaded. If it feels like it and smells like it, it is.
