Eskom and South African paying the price for Affirmative Action
18 February 2019
Eskom and the government's unwavering implementation of Affirmative Action (AA) is costing South Africa dearly. Numerous experienced and expert engineers left Eskom due to AA and now the Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Pravin Gordhan, wants to ask them to come and help save Eskom from ruin.
Over the years, the FF Plus has warned that AA is not only detrimental to Eskom, but also to South Africa. The party voiced their concern as far back as 2011 when the leader of the FF Plus, Dr Pieter Groenewald, asked the Minister of Public Enterprises by means of a parliamentary question how many engineers, tradesmen and technicians had left Eskom.
According to the Minister's response, 455 engineers, of which 110 white, resigned and 13 engineers, of which 11 white, retired during the period from 2008 to March 2011. During the same period, 342 technicians resigned and 38 retired. (Please see the Minister's response attached).
Eskom's latest Affirmative Action Plan states that by March 2020, there must be 1308 less qualified white employees in its service, and it serves as proof that Eskom is more concerned about meeting race targets that about the interests of South Africa.
During the debate on the SONA, the leader of the FF Plus told President Cyril Ramaphosa that if he wants to save the country's economy, he must take race out of the equation and do away with expropriation without compensation. In previous debates on the President's budget vote debate, Dr Groenewald asked specifically that Affirmative Action must be abolished as South Africa needs to utilise the talents of all its people.
It is also unfair to disadvantage young people who were born after 1994 based on their skin colour.
The fact that all the other parties in Parliament, apart from the FF Plus, are in favour of AA and want to keep it implemented as policy shows that they are obsessed with race. South Africa needs merit and not racial quotas to build up this nation.
The words of the Minister of Finance, Mr Tito Mboweni, that in 30 years' time South Africa will regret the University of Pretoria's decision to make English its only language of instruction is also applicable to Eskom. After 25 years, South Africa is now regretting the fact that it implemented AA – like at Eskom.
Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 18 February 2019
