Power utility Eskom has been used as a political battleground in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), according to political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast.
This comes as South Africa continues to bear the brunt of ongoing blackouts, due to load shedding.
Power (and power) struggle in SA
Electric fight
The country is currently experiencing a Phase 6 blackout, for the fifth consecutive day without an end.
Eskom last week said the phase would take until now, due to severe capacity constraints.
Also read: Eskom imposes phase 6 load shedding until further notice
Political power struggle
Talk to The WargaBreakfast said differences between some ANC leaders did not help the situation.
“Since 2018 promises have been made about Independent Power Producers (IPP) but not all ministers speak the same language”, said Breakfast.
He explained: “On the one hand, you have Gwede Mantashe arguing against coal while another minister, Pravin Gordhan, is talking about renewable energy.”
Meanwhile, in Davos…
Breakfast said he also did not understand why government leaders would be at the World Economic Forum in Davos to promote and sell a country that is in dire straits.
The meeting seeks to discuss global economic issues with the overall goal of positioning the country as a competitive business destination.
The SA delegation will be led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and will include Ministers Enoch Godongwana, Naledi Pandor, Ebrahim Patel and Mmamoloko Kubayi.
Also read: WEF Davos: SA needs to show it needs to invest despite the energy crisis
“You have governments and parties speaking different languages because some see IPP as another form of privatisation.
“At the same time, the ANC company was appointed as the service provider for the new power plant building and we all know what happened in some of those new power plants,” Breakfast said.
The election is at stake
Breakfast warned that the ANC is at risk of losing power by 2024 if the electricity crisis continues unabated.
Commenting on the issue of sabotage at some of Eskom’s power plants, Breakfast said there were some in the ANC who did not want him to succeed in turning Eskom’s dire situation around.
“Eskom has been used as a political battleground and it doesn’t matter who the CEO is; if the CEO doesn’t have buy-in from everyone, then it won’t be fixed,” said Breakfast.
Dark next year for SA
Another political analyst, Prof Andre Duvenhage, warned of a dark year ahead for South Africans.
According to Duvenhage, the crisis in the country’s electricity supply has gotten out of control, making it difficult to manage the economy in the right way.
“We have an Eskom that is broken due to corruption, mismanagement and political interference.
“To take it a step further, crime syndicates control and steal what is left of Eskom at the expense of ordinary taxpayers,” Duvenhage said.
Canvassing for votes
Duvenhage said the government is rushing into a phase where it needs a quick vote to get an absolute majority in 2024.
“If we look at the Andre de Ruyter episode, de Ruyter decided to leave Eskom not because he believed that he did not contribute enough, but because there was a lack of politics to act on behalf of Eskom, to act against crime syndicates. and here I include Cyril Ramaphosa , Gwede Mantashe, Pravin Gordhan and others.
“What is very clear to me is that there are very sensitive political interests and my projection for the future is that 2023 will be a very dark year and I do not see the political will to make the necessary changes.” added Duvenhage.