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Government partners at the National Council for Economic Development and Labor (Nedlac) signed a social compact agreement to roll back the country’s indebted power company Eskom.
The articles of incorporation were signed at the 25th annual Nedlac National Summit. The theme of the event was: “Social compaction for economic recovery in the time of Covid-19: pointers to the future.”
In his keynote address, Vice President David Mabuza said the pact will focus on identifying and supporting innovative and cost-effective financing mechanisms to reduce Eskom’s debt. At the end of March, the debt of the utility company was R484 billion.
Nedlac will also look for ways to help the power company and the government access fresh capital.
“We are committed to rapid implementation, especially of the necessary structural reforms and long-pending measures in areas such as energy security,” Mabuza said.
He added that social impact remains relevant and will be an important vehicle through which to hold Eskom to account, rectify past problems and serve the people of South Africa with a sustainable supply of electricity in the future.
Denials of this plan began last year. However, in October this year, announcing the economic reconstruction recovery plan, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a long-term solution to Eskom’s debt burden will be finalized, based on the social pact on energy security. recently agreed by the social partners.
Ramaphosa said the measures aim to achieve a sufficient, safe and reliable power supply within two years.
Public Companies Minister Pravin Gordhan, who signed the social pact on behalf of the government, said there is still significant resistance to change from former Eskom managers and some within the energy company.
But then he added that, in the interests of the economic recovery and reconstruction plan, it will be significant for the country as a whole to support the plan because it is essential that Eskom’s recovery be sustained.
He said Eskom is a vital component of the economic recovery plan in terms of energy security. “As we move into 2021, Eskom’s Just Transition becomes a very important national goal for all of us in relation to meeting climate change commitments,” Gordhan said, adding that there must be a transition from coal. to other less harmful forms of energy. .
Mabuza also said that the government welcomes and accepts the swift work of its social partners in Nedlac in delivering a social pact to change Eskom, as well as the other measures it agreed to offer economic relief to citizens.
“More than at any time in recent history, Nedlac’s role and function is an existential necessity, to help mobilize confidence and credibility for the economic recovery and reconstruction plan,” Mabuza said.
“We are of the opinion that if it hadn’t been for the organized business, labor and community, in their own districts and working collectively in Nedlac, we would have been worse off in our response to the pandemic and the national shutdown.”
The vice president praised measures such as the Covid-19 employer-employee temporary tax relief plan, tax holidays, the introduction of social benefits and the creation of the Solidarity Fund, which were finalized after the negotiations that the Government held with its social partners. .
Mabuza said he was pleased that there has been more agreement and rapid collaboration than ever at Nedlac on issues such as workplace health and safety, measures to make transportation safer and the promotion of locally produced personal protective equipment.
She added that the government must work to eradicate inequality, which she said “undermines the human rights of women and young people who remain largely excluded from the mainstream of the economy.”
The fault lines of inequality not only foster the absence of shared social cohesion, but also contribute to the delegitimization of both the public and private sectors, Mabuza said.
He added that South Africa cannot advance and advance its nation-building and social cohesion plans without eliminating barriers to entry for small businesses and without integrating women and youth in activities that significantly improve the basic conditions of their lives.
Mabuza said that addressing the land issue is justifiably important for building a meaningful nation and for unlocking untapped economic agricultural and industrial potential for the country’s development. His comments come after the government declared that it will hand over 700,000 hectares of land to citizens through leases. The implementation of this commitment is still ongoing.
“In our opinion, [the] not addressing the land issue is unsustainable, and the prevailing condition provides fertile ground for social discord and political instability, ”Mabuza said.
He said that at the end of the agrarian reform program, the government will also look to Nedlac as a demonstrable platform for consultation, participation and social compaction, so that he can once again play a key role in bringing that process to its logical conclusion.
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