Truckers hog the roads
FEARS OF JOB LOSSES SPUR LORRY DRIVERS
THE writing is on the wall for coal miners that the introduction of renewable energy will put them out of business.
Truck drivers too, operating largely in Mpumalanga, fear job losses in their industry. Employers and the drivers joined forces yesterday for a march to Union Buildings in Pretoria to deliver a memorandum of demands to President Jacob Zuma.
Highways leading into the city centre were jammed in the morning, as scores of coal trucks slowly drove in. The march proceeded from an open space near the Marabastad bus terminal, where the trucks were parked.
Organisers said the march was triggered by Zuma’s statement during his State of the Nation Address that Eskom was surging ahead with plans to introduce renewable energy. This entails generation of electricity from natural resources like sunlight, wind, rain and geothermal heat and less from coal and nuclear.
The move will see Eskom generating power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) specialising in renewable energy.
“We’re crying against the IPPs. They are going to take away almost a million jobs. People are going to be out of jobs,” said Steven Mokwana, chairman of the Coal Transporters Forum.
He said they were seeking Zuma’s intervention because Eskom told them that its hands were tied. “Eskom [officials] are listening to what we’re saying. But they are saying there’s nothing they can do because this is government-driven.”
Klaas Maredi, 50, from Belfast, Mpumalanga, has been a truck driver at Inductor Serve for five years. He told Sowetan he cannot afford to lose his job. “We heard that our government wants to close down power stations. As truck drivers we’ll lose jobs. That is why we joined the march.”
WWF South Africa, an NGO, currently has an online petition to compel Eskom to urgently sign agreements with IPPs. In a letter to Eskom, WWF SA’s chief executive officer Morné du Plessis said the country could have 70% renewable energy mix by 2050.
“Not only can renewable energy be put in place faster than coal, nuclear or gas, it can provide cheaper electricity and is cleaner than all other options,” he said.