Unbundling of Eskom will add pressure on consumers
Eskom’s mandate of producing reliable electricity at an affordable rate will be replaced by emphasis on productivity at whatever costs. The unbundling of Eskom, converting it into three companies, is a costly exercise. There will be three boards, three CEOs and three chief financial officers which are also going to add to the problems. They are still going to consume the very same constrained public resources.
Although still not clear, there are rumours that Eskom chief operating officer John Oberholzer is moving around, bragging and telling workers that there will be massive retrenchments. Currently, the real unemployment rate in South Africa is 38%, with close to 10million people struggling to get jobs and more than 17-million on welfare.
At the recently held National Union of Mineworkers energy national s hop stewards council, workers expressed anger towards the power utility.
They reiterated the trade union’s position that retrenchments at Eskom will never happen in our lifetime.
During the job summit in October last year, the government committed to create 275,000 jobs annually, but there seem to be serious contradiction.
The unbundling of Eskom is clearly motivated by greed and continued corrupt activities within the power utility. This move will also weaken the unity of workers as they will be divided.
The unity of workers in 19982000 derailed the attempt by the then president Thabo Mbeki regime to privatise 30% of Eskom power generation to private black economic empowerment. The midnight signing of 27 independent power producers last year by energy minister Jeff Radebe has put more burden on the consumers with unwanted and expensive electricity. The shop stewards expressed their views, saying they do not want Eskom that always gets bailed out; they need a permanent solution to the problems.
In total, there are 12 power stations in Mpumalanga alone and workers are prepared to go on strike against splitting the stateowned power utility.
Any posture that seeks to propel the unbundling of the power utility will be met with militancy and radicalism.
Chilwane is the media officer of the National Union of Mineworkers
‘ ‘ Workers are ready to go on strike against utility’s greed