SACP joins union in contesting sale of Eskom’s assets

THE SACP has thrown its weight behind the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) call that Eskom must not sell off its assets to generate cash.

The NUM has upped the ante and asked for a meeting with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss its concerns and unhappiness over plans to sell off the ailing power assets.

Ramaphosa, a former general secretary of the NUM, has been tasked by the cabinet to take charge of getting Eskom out of the starting blocks as it struggles to meet targets and demands for electricity.

The SACP said in a post central committee (CC) press briefing yesterday that some of utility’s Eskom’s problems are complex and any attempts to privatise the parastatal would be a blunder.

In an interview with Independent Media SA, NUM general secretary Frans Baleni said members were being mobilised and among their options is a decision to take to the streets to voice their demands.

“We have also asked for a meeting with the deputy president, who is leading the war room on Eskom as labour is not represented in there (the war room), but business is through Busa,” Baleni added.

Should Eskom go ahead with the sale of the company, it would anger workers who depend on the scheme for reasonably priced home loans. Should workers decide to embark on industrial action, the struggling parastatal would crumble.

Eskom chief executive Tshediso Matona is reported to have told a Reuters Africa Investment Summit that the electricity generator was considering selling the Eskom Finance Company, which provides home loan facilities to its employees.

The union also got backing from the SACP on its opposition to the Independent System Market Operator Bill, which would take away the energy transmission role of Eskom, an action that would inevitably break the company’s monopoly on electricity generation.

The bill also received no support from the ruling ANC, which called for its rejection in January.