Reprieve is the real deal, says former Eskom CEO
FORMER Eskom CEO and engineer Matshela Koko has called for calm after 40-plus days of no load shedding in South Africa.
This came about after Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati recently dismissed speculation that the load-shedding reprieve was yet another election ploy by the government.
Since September 2022, South Africans have had to get used to daily bouts of load shedding.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika recently, Mteto dismissed speculation and accusations that this was due to the upcoming elections, adding that these theories were uncalled for.
“We are not playing any political games. That is not who we are, and we are never going to start playing those games,” he said. “Our focus is to help sort out South Africa’s challenges.”
Last week, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, indicated that the improved performance was due to improvement and structural changes within Eskom, which resulted in last year’s anticipated unplanned capacity loss factor being reduced from 15 000MW to 14 000MW during the same period.
“Eskom, by its own admission, accepts that the kind of improvement that we have seen is so enduring that we can say to the country that we have clocked back 1 000MW compared to the same period of the previous calendar year,” he said.
South Africans have been speculating on whether the reprieve is genuine or is part of an electioneering package brought by the government to ensure they vote for the ruling party.
Others have said the reprieve comes by “burning diesel at all costs”, in spite of regular updates by Minister Ramokgopa, who has indicated that Eskom has turned the corner.
On Saturday, responding to conspiracy theorists on social media, Koko said that Eskom had indeed turned the corner, adding that during his tenure, similar sentiments were shared when load shedding was put to an end.
“Guys, forget your conspiracy theories. Eskom SA has turned the corner. The dead horse is on its feet. I love the confidence Eskom is showing,” he said.
Koko added that he had been in a similar position where doubters accused Eskom of burning diesel to keep the lights on.
“I can relate to what the Eskom leadership is being subjected to today, and it is wrong and, to a certain extent, racist. When we kept the lights on for three uninterrupted years in 20152018, we were also told that we burned diesel to keep the lights on, and we ran the plant hard. Those were the conspiracy theories that served a specific narrative.
“Eskom deserves all the support and the praises. I have no doubt that Eskom operational performance will get better later in the year, when the Koeberg unit and Medupi 4 comes back,“Koko added.