Pretoria’s Energy Minister Insists Africa Must Unite against Shutdown of Fossil Fuels and Investment

Nov. 28, 2021 (EIRNS)—South Africa’s Minister for Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe, keynoting the Nov. 9-12 African Energy Week conference in Cape Town on Nov. 9, denounced the demand to phase out fossil fuels, and explicitly denounced the cutting off of credit for fossil fuel investment, calling for an Africa-wide financial institution to assure funding for energy development. Although Mantashe did not refute the fake science behind the Malthusians’ demand to curtail carbon emissions, he unmistakably denounced the anti-development intent of COP26.

As reported in South Africa’s Fin24 economic news site, today, Mantashe said of the demands to curtail fossil fuels:

“This is a sign of unsettlement by the rich countries, where we are converted into conduits of ideas of developed economies. Our continent collectively, and her individual countries [are] made to bear the brunt for heavy polluters. We are being pressured, even compelled, to move away from all forms of fossil fuels, including resources such as gas, which have been regarded as key resources for industrialization.... I think Africa must get together to develop a strategy to deal with this reality. Africa must seize the moment, we must indeed position Africa oil and gas at the forefront of global energy growth.”

Mantashe insisted that the development of Africa Should be piloted by the continent itself, and it should not be “coerced to take missteps,” arguing that the demands were “hollow.” “We’ve noticed with interest that when Britain, when China, when India, when Australia ran into energy crises, they all appealed to coal generation to give them more energy. You will notice that, but when they talk to us they say stop using coal immediately. That is the issue that we must discuss without fear.”

The state of affairs in South Africa is indicated by the fact that (1) President Cyril Ramaphosa has not fired Mantashe as a result of the latter’s campaign for Africa to “seize the moment and defend hydrocarbons (and nuclear)”; and (2) there is no big campaign in the press attacking Mantashe, although the press has gone after him in the past as best they could. However, an editorial on the African Energy Week website is headlined, “South Africa’s Gwede Mantashe Is Right: Energy Transition Must Be Guided by Reason, Not Panic.”