EFF’s memorandum to Eskom

28 February 2020

We the Economic Freedom Fighters, on behalf of all South Africans young and old, poor and economically marginalized from all walks of life across the length and breadth of our land, towns, townships, informal settlements and rural areas, workplaces and campuses, who wish to have access to decent, reliable and affordable electricity, demand urgent intervention to save Eskom. Stabilisation of energy source, in particular electricity, is important for an economic-development strategy that include the development of more industries.

Eskom is recipient of the People's March Against Loadshedding and privatisation of Eskom because at the moment, it has the responsibility to ensure stability of electricity generation and supply. Eskom supplies more than 90% of South Africa's power. For South Africa to build a capable state, stabilise the economy and move towards industrialisation, electricity supply security and pricing is a non-negotiable.

Historically, Eskom has been part of a mineral-energy complex that has benefitted few businesses and corporations at the expense of massive electrification of South Africa and the continent. While majority of South Africans have electricity in their homes, Eskom carries the potential and uncontested obligation to play a central role in massive industrialisation and development of South Africa and the African continents.

We have come here carrying the cries of millions of South Africans, who have suffered through high electricity prices and loadshedding, in the People's March Against Loadshedding and privatisation, under the capable and solid leader the Economic Freedom Fighters to make the following demands:

a. Eskom should suspend all processes underway to retrench workers and privatisation of Eskom.

b. Eskom should standardise all coal prices and only pay the prices determined by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), and should cancel any coal contracts with companies who refused to sign, and allocate operational licence to a state-mining company.

c. Eskom should explore all legal possibilities including the Constitutional Court, to exit all the evergreen contracts, most of which were signed before 1994, and are a huge financial burden to the company, and must publish details of what Eskom has paid since 1994. These should include all short and mid-term contracts Eskom entered into in 2017, including Glencore contract that Eskom pays R607.01. per tonne of coal while the Energy Regulator said Eskom should be paying.

d. Eskom should fundamentally review all power purchasing agreements with renewable independent power producers because in their current form, all renewable IPP is designed to benefit South Africa's racist financial sector.

e. Eskom should complete the construction of Kusile and Medupi. Billions of rands were stolen and that money is never going to be recovered. The sooner you complete these two projects the better.

f. Eskom should build nuclear power stations using a build, operate and transfer model with a clear illustration of how private sector will use their money, operate them for an agreed period, transfer operation and maintenance skills to state-employed engineers, artisans, electricians and all other skills needed to operate a nuclear power station.

g. Eskom should build own renewable energy capacity with massive investment in wind, solar and water resources in a manner that is affordable and sustainable.

h. Eskom should cancel all process underway to retrench workers at all levels.

i. Eskom should expand its capacity to roll-out electrification of the African continent in a massive scale.

j. Eskom should institute an urgent lifestyle audit of all employees at all levels.

k. Government should restructure Eskom shareholding to ensure that more than one minister is the shareholder representative of government.

l. Eskom should cancel the debt of all unemployed and indigents people, including Soweto residents.

m. Eskom should publish a list of all coal mines that were commissioned by Eskom, and are not owned by the private sector but remain properties of Eskom, and should also submit to Parliament why these coal mines are not listed in Eskom balance sheet.

n. Eskom should immediately publish the list of all service provider contracted in the past 10 years, details by value of contract, names of directors and goods and services procured.

o. Eskom should immediately cancel all contracts with consultants and move towards building internal capacity in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.

These demands to Eskom are practical way to stabilise Eskom and suspend all processes underway to retrench workers as all these efforts are only leading to Eskom 'death spiral'.

Electricity is vital to reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality, and the demands submitted herewith should turn electricity into a public good, owned by the people and with democratic oversight.

Eskom should submit detailed responses and plan on each and every one of our demand within the 30 days. These demands are genuine and should be acceded to with immediate effect, because majority of South Africans need Eskom that work, and provide reliable and affordable electricity.

Issued by Vuyani Pambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 28 February 2020