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Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan.
- Pravin Gordhan says there should be transparency at Nedlac about the old and new sponsorship networks at Eskom.
- Some former and current Eskom managers are still resisting change as the power company restructures.
- Cosatu welcomed the social pact to help Eskom with its debt because this will help the economic recovery.
The government needs to continue to crack down on corruption in Eskom and other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to eradicate the old and new sponsorship networks, Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan said.
He also said that future purchases of additional power must be done correctly, as “coal stations, nuclear power and some of the renewables do not adequately represent the demand that we anticipate in the near future as the economy recovers from the second wave. of [Covid-19] pandemic”.
Gordhan told a hybrid Nedlac summit, held at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton on Tuesday morning, that the labor, government and business forum that is Nedlac should “discuss more transparently how the different types of networks have been established. sponsorship, both old and new, and how these patronage networks continue to disable and hinder the type of recovery plans we have for important entities and utilities, such as Eskom itself ”.
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He said this requires a change in the operating culture of the embattled power company, but “just as other districts, including companies in particular, need to see a different shift towards more ethical practices in their interaction with state entities.”
Gordhan said the government had a “total commitment” to act within the provisions of the social pact signed in Nedlac on Tuesday, which supports Cosatu’s proposal to use public servants’ pensions to reduce Eskom’s debt of more than 500,000. million rand.
READ | Paying for electricity to help Eskom succeed, urges Mabuza
He said the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on Eskom’s ability to perform the right kind of maintenance, but a functioning power company was central to the government’s economic recovery plan after damage from the shutdown, and also before.
Gordhan said Eskom had been trying to free itself from the “clutches of state capture, both by political forces [and] also by economic agents “in the last two and a half years, while it was in a restructuring process.
“There is still significant resistance to change from former Eskom managers and some within Eskom itself,” he said.
READ HERE | ‘We say goodbye to hundreds’ – De Ruyter de Eskom on cleaning up corruption
Cosatu Secretary General Bheki Ntshalintshali welcomed the social pact and said that electricity would help with economic growth.
He said it was necessary to give people work, so they could pay for electricity.
In a statement, Cosatu said the continued forced power outages, or “shedding of charges,” are a risk to jobs and the economy.
READ ALSO | Eskom targets 2050 net zero emissions
They listed the 35 key components of Cosatu’s plan to help stabilize and rebuild Eskom, which includes ensuring worker job security, tackling corruption and waste, reducing “bloated administration and exorbitant profits,” reviewing Eskom contracts and ensure that quality coal is supplied to the electricity grid.
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