We cannot sit idle and watch Turkey fall into a state of ruin
Following a failed coup and imposition of major sanctions, this nation needs investment
PEACE, security, terrorism, the role of the media, foreign policy and humanitarian efforts were some of the many topics that came under the spotlight at a TRT World Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, last week.
TRT is the country’s public broadcaster and speakers included President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Grand National Assembly Binali Yildirim, former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan.
The two-day summit saw politicians, academics, journalists and members of civil society gather to discuss pertinent issues in the world today.
I attended the conference at the invitation of TRT.
The failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and at least 2 000 injured, still remains a hot topic.
Turkey and its allies say terror group Feto, which is led by Turkish cleric Fetullah Gulen, were responsible for the failed putsch. Gulen has been in self-exile in the US since the early 90s and the US remain unresponsive to requests for him to be extradited to Turkey to face charges. By 2015, Gulen was found to be running a “shadow government” in Turkey, with deep infiltrations of the country’s judiciary, military and police force.
The Gulen movement, or Feto, are based in many countries around the world, including right here in South Africa. Supporters of Gulen are adamant that they are not “terrorists” and they had no hand in the failed coup. They accuse their country of targeting and intimidating them unfairly.
Police operations across Turkey continue to root out his followers, with the same happening in many allied countries.
Experts at the summit say terrorist organisations, like Feto, continue to seek foreign support for their causes.
The primary strategy of these organisations, they say, “is to wage a psychological and political war to gain leverage and, ideally, legitimacy for their causes.”
Turkey is often accused of arresting journalists and clamping down on the media. Government officials are quick to point out that the country enjoys media freedom.
They say that journalists arrested and jailed have proven links to terror organisations such as the leftist DHKP-C, which carried out a suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Istanbul in 2013, and the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by the US, the EU and Turkey.
Turkey, due to its key location as the gateway between the East and West, faces daily threats, both internally and externally.
Internally, Turkey are fighting the PKK which, since the 1960s, launched an armed campaign against the state to gain autonomy for the Kurdish people.
Turkey is also protecting its borders and Syrian refugees from Isis and the, PKK-run and US-backed, YPG in northern Syria. Now the US, with support from its allies, is targeting Turkey’s economy, with President Donald Trump imposing sanctions.
But with the economic woes at its worst in Turkey’s recent history, citizens remain resilient. Like him or loathe him, Erdogan pulls no punches and speaks his mind about the US, the UN and the conflict in the Middle East.
The Turkish president has long advocated reforming the structure of the UN Security Council, using the motto: “The world is bigger than five.”
He’s also outspoken, and sends financial and relief support to assist persecuted minorities around the world, which include the Rohingya and the Palestinians.
During his visit to South Africa a few months ago, Erdogan drew much support, especially from the local Muslim community.
The potential for tourism, investment and cultural links for both Turkey and South Africa remains positive.
Turkey remains a dream country for many tourists.
The scenery, history, cuisine, culture and location make it an attraction for millions annually. It has a fascinating history.
Turkey’s ambassador to South Africa, Elif Ulgen says more and more locals are travelling to her country for holiday and business. She says Turkey offers vast investment opportunities, and daily flights between the two countries make the prospect of future relations and opportunities “even brighter”.
Several South African journalists are now working for TRT World in Turkey. They include Imran Garda, Robin Adams, Mark Klusener, Abed Ahmed, Riyaad Minty, Ben Said and Louis Oelofse.
It’s great to see South Africans making their mark on the world stage.
Turkey also continues to assist thousands of refugees, especially on its border with Syria. The IHH, an international humanitarian group, does sterling work.
Over two years ago, I travelled with the Al Imdaad Foundation to the Hatay region, where we distributed aid to refugees. South Africans donated millions of rand after the Aleppo attack.
Several South African-based NGOs continue to play their part.
Turkey remains an attraction to millions around the world. At a time when the country needs investment, now is the time for us to pledge our support and help a nation in need.
Erdogan says some claim Turkey will go hungry next year. “We will share our bread,” he told the conference.
Let’s not sit back and watch Trump, dubbed the “bully”, bring Turkey to its knees. IN JULY this year, Eskom released its much-delayed financial results.
Poor results revealed, among others, a net loss of R2.3 billion and an amount of R19.6 billion that was attributed to irregular expenditure.
The utility claimed that 60% of such incidents related to administrative non-compliance‚ and noted that irregular spending was not necessarily fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
With an amassed debt of R399bn by the end of March 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, it would take a mountain of concerted effort to turn the utility into a sustainable, profit-making organisation.
As rescue strategies are fleshed out in the coming months and as parliamentary hearings unravel the extent of the mismanagement, a critical question to ask in practical terms is how Eskom came to be so woefully mismanaged.
If one is to take a step back to see where the utility went wrong, there are clear indications that inadequate monitoring because of unsatisfactory internal processes and a poorly applied organisational structure allowed flawed decisions and critical actions to go unchecked.
A decade ago, in a bid to meet South Africa’s expanding power consumption, Eskom embarked on one of the world’s biggest projects.
A mega-structure power station, Medupi, was to be developed in the Limpopo Province. A total of six boilers would each power an 800MW turbine, producing 4 800MW of power for South Africa’s national grid, making it the largest dry-cooled coal-fired power station in the world. The cost of producing the power station would be R80 billion.
In 2018, production of Medupi is only now nearing completion. According to the station’s director, all units will be fully operational by 2020. The Medupi project has endured numerous delays over its lifetime with an overspend of R52 billion – almost equal to that of the total estimated cost.
Successful management of a project the size of Medupi requires a different orientation of governance and an appropriate organisational structure. An organisation’s structure directly informs how human resources are able to be distributed; how activity is rolled out and managed; how risks are identified; and how project learning is captured.
Complex projects like Medupi require large-scale outsourcing to multiple stakeholders with the incorporation of varied timelines and deliverables, and the development of different risk profiles. Project-based organisations (PBOs) are able to handle this complexity due to their governance frameworks and structure that gathers human resources and supporting processes around the development, implementation and completion of the project.
PBOs are substantially different to routine organisations which rather use the principle of specialisation based on function or role. In a routine organisation decisions are decentralised since issues are delegated to specialised persons or units, leaving them the responsibility of implementing, evaluating, or controlling procedures or goals.
For all intents and purposes, Eskom appears to have been structured as a routine organisation, which is a fundamental shortcoming. Power stations are – or should be – discrete projects, each with its own life cycle, cost centres and risk profile.
Eskom’s management of its power stations has resulted in sub-optimal development and management, and ultimately delivery.
As the largest power utility on the African continent, Eskom should be blazing the way as an institution capable of innovation and flexibility that is committed to continuous learning and knowledge-gathering.