Mzansi is Not Buying That There Was Sabotage at Eskom's Lethabo Power Station: "Where's the Evidence?"
- The Hawks have been commissioned to investigate a possible act of sabotage at Lethabo Power Sation, according to Eskom CEO
- A small pylon was reportedly cut which led to a tower toppling down and the disruption of distribution lines
- Some South Africans are not convinced that a pylon being cut is enough evidence to claim that sabotage was at play
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JOHANNESBURG - During a virtual press briefing on Friday, Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says the Hawks have been called to investigate an alleged act of sabotage at the Lethabo power station in the Free State province.
De Ruyter says on at 6pm Wednesday night, a tower collapsed on a distribution line and the line also tripped. This happened as a result of a small pylon carrying power lines being cut by the alleged sabotagers.
Source: UGC
De Ruyter added that eight supports which are called stays were also cut. He stated that the stays were quite sturdy meaning that some sort of cutting equipment was used on them, according to a report by News24.
He said what happened at Lethabo power station was without doubt sabotage because nothing was stolen, reports Newzroom Afrika.
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Sabotage could have landed SA into Stage 4 loadshedding
De Ruyter says the malicious at Lethabo Power Station could have seen South Africa going into Stage 4 or even Stage 6 loadshedding.
The backup power at the power station was also compromised which meant that the was only 6-hours of coal left in the bunkers, had the coal run out, the power station's generating capacity would have run out.
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South Africans react
Taking to social media, South African's shared their opinions about the Eskom sabotage. Some people were not convinced that the pylon being cut was enough evidence to call it to sabotage.
Here's what they had to say:
@Cliff_Hadji said:
"Thieves have been stealing support steel from Transmission Pylons for years."
@KaraboPDube said:
"Have always suspected sabotage so that Ramaphosa, the Eskom board and Pravin are blamed. Finally, there's now clear evidence of sabotage. Selfish people behind this should be found and prosecuted. They only care about their self-interests, not the country's interests."
@MzgViii said:
"you guys have simply turned yourselves into jokes…where is the evidence?"
@AkoojeeF said:
"It was always known that they are sabotaging the power station to feed all the outside players."
@ThaCido88 said:
"Power lines cut..." At some point, South Africans must demand proof. We have been lied to so many times."
@Noodlehackie said:
"In other words they are saying they need more money because Christmas is around the corner.."
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter suspicious of 3 units breaking down at the same time
Briefly News previously reported that some of the troubles at South Africa's state-owned power utility are coming from the inside according to Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter.
De Ruyter says some of the breakdowns that have been happening at power stations seem suspicious and an investigation has ensued. He made this claim during an online media briefing with reporters.
De Ruyter added that in some cases, breakdowns were not caused by malicious behaviour but were the result of incompetence from the staff, according to MyBroadband.
Source: Briefly News
