Glimmer of hope for Eskom

WE ALL wondered where President Cyril Ramaphosa was when the nation faced an energy crisis.

Rumours and speculation made their rounds, keeping many of us worrying in the dark.

Were the problems at Eskom insurmountable and beyond the capabilities of all those entrusted with running the power utility?

Had the government reached a dead end on how to resolve the crippling energy crisis?

Was Ramaphosa too embarrassed to show his face in public after he was caught out hiding his dollars under the sofa at the Phala Phala farm?

But now, at last, he has recently stepped forth and addressed the nation on the energy crisis that is frustrating the public and destroying the economy and business.

In a lengthy address, he outlined a range of measures to revive the dying energy giant.

We all felt a little relieved. There was a glimmer of hope.

Among the many plans outlined by the president were removing red tape that was stifling attempts by power station managers to procure maintenance spares to repair broken power plants and the establishment of a special police task force to go after all those implicated in fraud and corruption at Eskom.

Another plan was rehiring engineers and skilled personnel who had left Eskom after the ANC government implemented its short-sighted cadre deployment policy.

It would even try to bring back those who had emigrated. Even more heartening was the news that some ex-Eskom staff were volunteering to return to the national power utility and help out with their skills and expertise.

Let’s hope it’s not the Gupta boys, Brian Molefe and Malusi Gigaba.

There were other measures, like removing the red tape for private participation in power generation, doing away with licences for embedded generation, speeding up renewable energy from wind and solar, buying excess power from our neighbours and independent power producers and making it easier for business and homes to generate their own power.

A glaring omission in the president’s address was energy minister Gwede Mantashe’s master plan for a second Eskom to solve the energy crisis, which, in effect, would give the corrupt another lucrative state institution to loot.

Rather than build another Eskom, the president wants to fix Eskom and improve its power-generating capacity. There could be light at the end of the long, dark Eskom tunnel.

The president said the measures outlined would not need a national disaster to be declared, as demanded by the DA.

The country had enough skills, expertise and capacity to fix Eskom and put more megawatts on to the grid to remove the spectre of load shedding.

Eskom would not be privatised but remain a national asset.

And then, to direct the whole delicate operation on the critical patient, there would be a team of experts comprising government ministers, business, mechanical and electrical engineers, labour and other skilled personnel.

Like the command council, which successfully saw us through the pandemic, the national energy crisis council would oversee the whole operation and report directly to the president on the progress of the patient.

Let’s hope we don’t have another scandal like the PPE scandal that saw millions disappear into the pockets of the officials.

As Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and the president mentioned, there is a criminal syndicate operating in Eskom, engaging in acts of sabotage and making money when the power plants break down.

Let’s hope they don’t infiltrate the energy crisis council and put a spanner in the works.

There is also the possibility that Eskom could have become the battleground for factionalism that is tearing the ANC apart. Pro-Zuma supporters working at Eskom would love to destroy Eskom and get their revenge on Ramaphosa.

Like the apartheid days, they would want to make the country ungovernable under Ramaphosa. Karma for the ANC?

Was Ramaphosa’s address to the nation another big talk show? Let’s hope it was not, and keep our fingers crossed that the extensive rejuvenation operation on Eskom is successful and brings the power giant out of its coma.