Eskom sabotage is economic sabotage
PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan recently said that Eskom’s load shedding was partly because of sabotage.
Gordhan has to ensure that he gets to the bottom of the matter.
If there are individuals or companies that are sabotaging power supply and causing load shedding, then our country is in serious trouble.
Load shedding not only disrupts people’s lives, but is also costly for our ailing economy.
The last time we experienced rolling load shedding the economy took a serious beating.
This time around, our economy has been growing at less than 1% and failing to create much-needed jobs.
Uncertainty over the supply of power has also been one of the reasons for not attracting foreign direct investment into our economy.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his investment envoys have been trotting the globe looking for investment, and promising stable power supply to potential investors.
That there is a suspicion by Gordhan that there are people involved in sabotaging power supply is seriously concerning. This would be tantamount to treason.
Eskom is an important part of the country’s efforts to grow the economy and create much-needed jobs for young people.
Sabotaging of this important asset is unacceptable.
For far too long, Eskom has been the site of battles for its big contracts for coal. At the centre of state capture has been the war to capture Eskom, which the Guptas and their allies managed to do.
Allegations of corruption at the power utility are rife. The nation is paying for the capture of Eskom, through the billions of rand that have been thrown to keep the company afloat – and the darkness that is visited upon our homes during load shedding.
Law enforcement must stop at nothing to ensure that any who are involved in such treasonous action are brought to book.
There is no amount of anger from some of the current and former executives – or anyone for that matter – that can justify the sabotaging of electricity supply, which is crucial in the life of a struggling economy.