Eskom tariffs: from sublime to ridiculous
ESKOM has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous for requesting a 90% increase in tariffs to make up a shortfall in its income.
Let’s not forget that much of the shortfall is a result of decades of corruption and mismanagement.
A 90% increase will double the cost of everything because every business, manufacturing industry and household, including the squatter camps rely on electricity.
If a household spends R2 000 a month on electricity, that will double to R4 000. When manufacturing costs increase, every item used in a household could increase by about 30% because electricity is a major component in the manufacturing process.
This will compel manufacturers to increase their salaries. This will increase the price of all goods in the household to every item used by the consumer.
In short, the minute Eskom is granted this ridiculous increase, the rand will be worth 50 cents or less. Bread will rise from R10 a loaf to R20 a loaf. The net result will be chaos: there will be mass starvation, factories will close, homes will be repossessed, other state industries and SOEs, like Prasa, and healthcare will grind to a halt.
In hospitals, no operations will be conducted if electricity is cut off.
The cost of operations in private hospitals will double. Medical aids will become unaffordable, so a number of former medical aid patients will swell numbers of patients in state hospitals.
We will be bankrupt as a nation. We will become another failed basket case.
The whole Eskom board should be fired for not thinking this through.
Ideally, like Germany, we should obtain 90% of our energy from solar and wind power. Eskom should then be changed into a museum.
We will save tons of money by not using copper cables and prevent the uncontrollable cable theft.
We can turn to battery power for our cars, buses and trains. When that happens, we won’t remain slaves of the oil cartels and barons.
EV RAPITI Cape Town