Eskom's problems are a national crisis

The seemingly endless crisis at Eskom is a cause of extreme concern to the whole country. The suspension of the CEO and three other executives is just the latest symptom of deep-seated problems to which no solution is in sight.

While millions of South Africans face the personal hardship of load-shedding, the uncertainty over power supplies into the future is putting the economy in danger of falling further and further away from meeting its already low targets for growth and job creation.

If Eskom cannot guarantee a rapid return to normal power supply, the economy faces a disaster, and, as always the workers and the poor will be the biggest casualties.

When the Board Chairperson, Zola Tsotsi, announced the four suspensions, the Congress of South African Trade Unions shared the view of NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni that "there is a collapse of governance" and that if anyone should have been suspended it was the chairperson of the board himself, given that he has presided over the crisis-ridden Eskom over the past four years, much longer than Tshediso Matona, the CEO he has just suspended, who was only appointed in September 2014.

At the same media briefing when he announced the suspension, the Chairperson also announced the setting up of an independent investigation into the problems at Eskom, something which COSATU has been calling for many years.

There is clearly a desperate need for a genuinely independent inquiry to provide us with a full picture of everything that has been happening at the state-owned enterprise, with no stone unturned and no holy cows protected.

It was therefore extremely worrying to read that the Eskom Board has agreed that its Chairperson will himself be in charge of the investigation and that he will head a board subcommittee with full delegated powers to determine the terms of reference, the contracting of investigators, and to oversee its progress.

Two other board members will sit on the subcommittee - Chwayita Mabude, chairwoman of the risk and audit committee, and Zethembe Khoza, chairman of the people and governance committee. Khoza will also act as interim CEO while Tshediso Matona is suspended.

There is no way that any such investigation can be independent or impartial if it is under the control of the head of the very structure it is investigating. COSATU agrees with Iraj Abedian of Pan-African Capital Holdings that it was "the antithesis of good corporate governance" for the chairman to "now to be the judge... This is the same board chairman who has presided over a series of actions and inactions. If he wanted to allay fears, he should have put a totally independent panel in charge."

If the investigation is to avoid conducting, or being perceived as conducting, a cover-up to protect those responsible for the crisis and making scapegoats of others, it will have no credibility and do nothing to solve the deep underlying problems.

As well as being truly independent, with the involvement of the trade unions, consumer groups and civil society, it must have unfettered access to all Eskom's books, contracts with suppliers and commercial clients, etc. There must be no hiding behind ‘commercial confidentiality'. The whole truth must be exposed.

Eskom, as COSATU General Secretary told workers in Durban on 15 March 2014, "just like other forces bent on oppressing the poor, has become an enemy of the workers. We cannot fold our arms when companies are closing and thousands of workers are being retrenched because of Eskom's rolling load shedding.

"It is not a question of whether or not we should go to Eskom but a question of when. As workers, we should immediately come up with a date when we should go to Eskom". 

The core problem remains that Eskom was forced to act as if it was a commercial private company instead of a public service provider. Profitability rather than service delivery was the only priority, and all the corrupt attitudes and practices which are inherent in the capitalist system were allowed to take root and fester in what should have been an institution run for the benefit of the people.

Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson, March 17 2015

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