Evidence surrounding Eskom surreal
TO DATE we’ve addressed the Eskom and Zupta debacles in all seriousness. Now we are forced to adopt an Alice in Wonderland attitude and put it into surreal perspective, the only view to fit the available evidence.
It all started with Eskom’s peculiar need to rid itself of corporate excellence, which was its hallmark until around 20 years ago, eventually the last man standing being an Eskom veteran, Brian Dames. He was persuaded to make way for Transnet’s master of non-development, Brian Molefe. And so began the modern Life of Brian era at Eskom, with apologies to the talents of Monty Python.
Just as the Pythonesque Brian wanted to overthrow the Romans, Brian II desired liberation of Eskom into the hands of his true masters, the Zuptas.
The liberation was a mammoth labour as this was the man incapable of effective scheduling of his mega coal export trains, such that drivers had to be rescued from shift changes in the bundu.
Unable to run a railroad, he then had to understand how a big building full of very energetic leprechauns (courtesy of the O’Flaherty period) could stuff electrons into the end of a big power cable. Eventually he realised that the secret to Eskom’s liberation was to convert the vital supplier coal mines into proverbial gold mines; never mind the need to generate power, as long as the pig-trough was full.
In total, the Eskom coal contracts are massive, as are the company’s construction contracts. R5 billion, one year’s loss at SAA, give or take the odd billion, is petty cash at Eskom – it doesn’t even pay for a replacement boiler at Duvha, that is if Eskom ever gets around to restoring that ruined asset to the country. So the SAA debacle is only a sideshow, almost a distraction, in the greater scheme of things.
The money-go-round at Eskom (R150bn turnover and two new power stations costing R250bn) is comparable to the country’s entire fiscus, well worth serious attention to divert a slice to the parasites while the nation prefers to watch Dudu Myeni imitate the antics of Hlaudi Motsoeneng at the SABC.
Another diversion is the R170 million contract let by the Department of Zero Energy (D0E) – on behalf of Eskom – for some extremely esoteric “work” on the unaffordable nuclear programme to be performed by another Zupta acolyte, one of the Reddy family.
It just so happens that the Minister of Zero Energy is a member of the same harem as Myeni and also dances to the palace band. Nevermind the D0E’s utter inability to compile an effective integrated resource plan and to guide the country towards diversification of energy sources, such as Grand Inga and imported natural gas. If you seriously thought that this was the D0E’s job then join the Mad Hatter in his illusions.
Meanwhile, back at the coalface, we get down to the serious money, where R0.5bn can be handed over as an advance payment on coal delivery, so long as you’re a Zupta. It took some serious shaking down to get a competent Glencore to leave the Optimum Mine: Brian II created the stratagem of penalising Glencore R2bn for delivering “substandard” coal to Hendrina, just so that Zuptadom could pass GO and collect the aforesaid R0.5bn.
That was merely to provide cash flow for the star in the emperor’s crown, the supply of enriched uranium fuel to the future nuclear power stations, originating from a gold/uranium mine also in the Zupta stable. And that, folks, is the real justification for the nuclear programme – nothing at all to do with the country’s real needs, which are education and healthy civil activism.
Those needs remain figments of fertile imagination while we all allow Zuptadom to flourish, even if the architects have bolted down an Arabian rabbit hole.
A few days ago Brian II had to submit to parliamentary examination in which he tried to explain that the reason for Eskom taking three times longer than the norm to build a new power station was the late order placement. Really?
And, of course, he avoided admitting that the reason for years of load-shedding, and a humongous diesel bill (which made some cronies very rich), was simply his continuing inability to supervise maintenance of power stations.
Nevermind insisting on giving away a power station’s entire output to aluminium smelters, but that takes care of the cronies with shares in South 32, the successor to BHP Billiton’s plainly illicit deal, which probably inspired the Zupta plan.