Monday 4 February 2008

WHAT THE???

My friends in S.A have been telling me how bad the power cuts (load shedding) are and how they are left with no electricity for hours on end. The effect on business is enormous; it is astounding how much we rely on electricity. My dad has a friend who had a business making school jerseys/sweaters/jumpers, the electricity kept getting cut off during his dying processes, the wool was destroyed, the colour was wrong and subsequently he has had to shut his business down. Everything we DO uses electricity the effects on the economy and business are enormous. Anyway, what stunned me the most was what our energy minister told South Africans to do in order to help solve the problem. Remarkable woman this...makes me proud to be a woman. NOT.
I took this off of the news24.co.za website:

Sleep more - Energy Minister

Jan 30 2008 03:32:51:540PM
South Africans can save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has told Parliament.
Cape Town - South Africans could save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica told Parliament on Wednesday.
"Go to sleep earlier so that you can grow and be cleverer. Boil less water, use the microwave rather than stove, take a shower and not a shallow bath," she told a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the power crisis.

Mmmmm

2 comments:

Is it just me? said...

Sleep more?...Is she having a laugh?.
Thats really dreadful news for your friend...bloody hell at this stage you'de imagine there'd be a better solution to the whole thing?.
We have a power cut here in Oranmore about five times during the winter time and hilariously apart from the fact that the dinner in the oven is spoilt, we generally don't notice when the lights go off.I'm a massive fan of candles and last time we had a cut the boys simply out down the remote and took out the board games ...thankfully we aren't relying on electricity for our livelihood..Great post.

Malcolm said...

Thanks! Ahhhh board games, one of our family favourite things to do too, and an excellent way to pass the time on a darkened night!