Pretoria - The Black Business Council has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to get rid of Eskom’s top bosses and install people who have the capacity to end load shedding.
The council’s chief executive Kganki Matabane said the rolling blackouts have caused immeasurable damage to the country’s ailing economy, forcing many businesses to shut down.
He called for Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter and the chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer to be removed as they were unfit to be kept at the helm of South Africa’s major energy provider.
“The Black Business Council has noted with dismay and disappointment the lack of urgency by the government to deal with load shedding. (We are) very disheartened that the Cabinet met for the entire day only to issue a statement that they are still in discussion,” said Matabane.
The council added that citizens needed more action than press statements coming from the government.
“We view this as the government being run through public relations trying to create an impression that they are doing something while actually doing nothing to resolve the blackouts.
“We once again call on the president to immediately fire the incompetent and non-performing board, CEO and COO of Eskom, who are more focused on promoting solar energy instead of fixing Eskom,” he said.
The council believes that the government should focus on stabilising and improving the performance of Eskom’s existing fleet.
“This is the only technically sound and proven method that can end the economy-destroying blackouts.
“The obsession with technologies that do not provide base-load such as solar and wind will not solve load shedding, as evidenced by Germany and other European countries reviving their coal-powered stations,” Matabane said. The Black Business Council represents black professionals, business associations and chambers. Its primary purpose is to lobby the government on policy-related matters. It is not the only one that has called for Eskom’s top management to be revamped.
Former statistician-general Pali Lehohla told a broadcaster that engineers and economists should be installed at Eskom to replace the current leadership.
“De Ruyter cannot solve this problem because he doesn’t have engineering. The first thing he does has been to concentrate on paying the debt.
“He paid R80 billion and we don’t have electricity. What we put De Ruyter there to do was to produce electricity. Instead, he went and dealt with the debt.
“The idea that the government is calling everybody to come and help is devoid of strategic thinking.
“People who are important and understand engineering … are busy with other important things. They can’t come and be led by De Ruyter. They will not accept that. Only mediocre people will come in there and be led by a person who has failed for three years,” said Lehohla.
While addressing academics at Unisa last week, former president Thabo Mbeki referenced Lehohla’s remarks that Eskom needs quality leadership.
“Why do we seem to be incapable as a country of addressing this matter effectively? Is it the issue that Pali Lehohla is raising? Let’s put engineers and economists as the leadership of Eskom. Maybe that’s the answer, but I’m saying it’s going to come from the kind of leadership that we need,” Mbeki said.
During the signing ceremony of the R11 billion renewable energy deals on Thursday, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe called for Eskom management to accept their “shortcomings”.
“My own view is that we need a lot of support for Eskom and the current leadership. Actually, the first thing, for us to help them is for them to accept their shortcomings.
“If we show them those shortcomings and they think it’s an insult, then we are in trouble, but if they accept their shortcomings and are prepared to engage people in closing those shortcomings, we are better off.
“That applies to Eskom, it applies to us in politics and it applies to everybody,” he said.
Pretoria News