Of great concern, as well, is the impractical proposal, at a time of great institutional instability, to place Eskom under the aegis of the Dept of Mineral and Energy Affairs. This is a less direct, but no less pointed, manoeuvre to undermine and politically weaken him.
The facts on Eskom are beyond dispute:
- Eskom has been fertile ground for patronage, massive corruption and political adventurism over the last two decades.
- Maladroit management and incompetent oversight have resulted in the utility being systematically degraded to the point where less than two-thirds of installed capacity of 46,000 MW is available at any given time.
- A failure to perform even perfunctory maintenance has had the predictable consequence of compromising even this available capacity.
- In recent years, load shedding has become a constant operational feature, with the remaining capacity frequently unavailable due to deliberate and negligent avoidance of proper management of the power infrastructure.
- Eskom demonstrably sits at the centre of the economy and its degradation has a linear correlation with SA’s declining economic performance.
That these facts are not in dispute is a chilling signal that national assets are being misgoverned not only at Eskom, but throughout the SOE sector. This is a deeper problem related to SA’s political culture and its form of government. This will have to be corrected if the country is to avoid the appellation of a failed state.
Casting blame on and directing opprobrium at Pravin Gordhan for the state of affairs at Eskom is disingenuous and duplicitous. Eskom’s decades-long management failures were compounded by criminal state capture, aided and abetted by a range of ministers in Jacob Zuma’s disastrous administration, as well as a coterie of thieves appointed to successive boards of Eskom.
Pravin Gordhan is not one of them. The true target of those ANC politicians and their fellow travellers who are leading the attack is President Cyril Ramaphosa. A convergence, or ‘unity’, of these individuals and organisations is indeed underway and is self-evidently designed to bring about the removal of a President committed to rehabilitating the country’s institutions and eliminating corruption.
Mealy-mouthed affirmations of their support for the President are pure fluff. It is embarrassingly obvious that President Ramaphosa is seen as a placeholder by these parties. Their strategy is to progressively weaken him until he is ousted and the Eskom crisis is fertile ground for their machinations.
Those clamouring for the head of Cde Pravin Gordhan fool no one. We know, as do most right-thinking members of the ANC and the citizenry, that these elements are engaged in a long-term project of state capture and regard the Ramaphosa presidency as a necessary interval before they are once more in power.
We make common cause with those within and outside of the ANC who would resist this project. We call on President Ramaphosa to stand firm and refuse to bend the knee to those that serve with him in the NEC and cabinet who would steal from and cripple the state. There is no ‘unity’ to be had with them; their ignominious defeat is certain. DM
- Wally Serote
- Frank Chikane
- Cheryl Carolus
- Sheila Sisulu
- Fazel Randera
- Omry Makgoale
- Pam Yako
- Smangaliso Mkhatshwa
- Ata Mkhwanazi
- Thami Ntenteni
- Mavuso Msimang
- Sydney Mufamadi
- Murphy Morobe
- Aziz Pahad
- Crispian Olver
- Mary Metcalfe
- Aslam Dasoo
- Connie Molusi
- Trevor Fowler
- Super Moloi
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