Minister Gordhan should condemn Eskom’s plans to retrench skilled white employees
18 February 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes with concern reports that Eskom plans to retrench skilled white employees, among them engineers and managers, in order to meet its affirmative action targets.
While transformation of the workforce is crucial in our country, these retrenchments come at a time that Eskom requires skilled and experienced technicians, irrespective of their race, to bring stability at the power utility.
Furthermore, Eskom cannot simply retrench employees based on the colour of their skin. The South African constitution is clear about discrimination on the basis of race. If this is indeed true, Eskom will not only be in contravention of the Constitution, but they would also be shooting themselves and the South African public in the foot.
I will therefore write to Minister Pravin Gordhan to urgently clarify and condemn the comments which have allegedly been made by Eskom. He needs to categorically state if this is a government position.
Needed now more than ever is for stability and policy certainty in this entity. We cannot afford a racial witch-hunt which is both illegal and detrimental to Eskom’s future.
It cannot be that Eskom, which poses the biggest economic risk to South Africa, would target hard working employees at a time of such a major crisis.
South Africa has been plunged into darkness by Eskom under the leadership of the failing ANC.
The job of turning around Eskom requires skilled and experienced workers who will ensure that the lights are switched back on. It certainly does not need a task team led by Deputy President David Mabuza who turned Mpumalanga into a failed state through massive mismanagement and corruption and a massive labour dispute to compound matters.
The DA is the only party, through its cheaper electricity bill, with a plan to fix Eskom and transform it into a thriving power utility.
Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 18 February 2019
