Congress of South African Trade Unions Says Eskom Should Not Be Privatised, Calls for State of Emergency

• The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) wants Eskom to be declared a state of emergency
• Cosatu’s General Secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said that the country is in a crisis that has never been seen before
• However, the union does not believe that the power utility should be privatised and said it is “fantasies”

JOHANNESBURG - Calls for Eskom to be declared a state of emergency are getting louder. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is the latest to say that the power utility is in a state of crisis.

Loadshedding continues to be implemented across the country despite striking workers accepting Eskom’s wage increase. Cosatu’s General Secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali told SABC News that the country is in a crisis that has never been seen before.

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He said independent power producers exist, and there is no point in opposing the idea of dealing with those issues. Ntshalintshali said Cosatu is opposed to the privatisation of Eskom. Cosatu said “ideological fantasies” of privatisation would not resolve the energy crisis.

Meanwhile, the Inkatha Freedom Party wants Eskom to secure public-private partnerships urgently and called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take the nation into his confidence on the crisis. According to EWN, the political party said the utility is spectacularly failing to deliver on its most basic mandate.

South Africans weigh in on the energy crisis at Eskom:

@SeanGra18929929 said:

“One question, who scores by selling diesel to Eskom when the OCGTs are run? Surely Eskom must get the diesel direct from the cheapest complying manufacturer eg, Sasol, shell, BP etc.”

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@MalizaNewoor wrote:

“There is no electricity crisis. Eskom has enough capacity with a surplus power of up to 15000mw at full supply to the country. State of emergency should rather be because of deliberate sabotage of the state utility by green energy psychopaths.”

@BillyG_86 posted:

“You maximise profits by increasing output... Or not?”

@DocHassim added:

“Cosatu has so much hot air I’m sure they can generate the shortage of power Eskom needs. No need to privatise.”

ANC national executive committee discusses Eskom and loadshedding with no agreement on solutions

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported the African National Congress National Executive Committee (NEC) is concerned about loadshedding and believes that government’s response to the energy crisis has been too slow. There are also calls for Eskom to move from the Department of Public Enterprises to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

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ANC National Executive Committee discusses Eskom and loadshedding with no agreement on solutions

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said moving Eskom from the public enterprises portfolio is not an immediate solution. City Press reported that the NEC emphasised that there is immediate intervention needed to assist with South African’s plight.

Source: Briefly News