Numsa vows to take the battle over Eskom to the streets
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has
rejected the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that cash-strapped
state-owned entity Eskom will be split into three entities.
The president told Parliament during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening that the embattled Eskom will be split into Generation, Transmission and Distribution - all under Eskom Holdings.
Numsa has described the move by Ramaphosa as privatisation of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
The union says it is preparing to fight the state in defence of the SOEs and Eskom in particular.
Numsa spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, accuses the state of dumping the working class into a situation of more suffering because the president is also calling for a tariff increase at Eskom.
"Only an Eskom which is completely owned and controlled by the state is the best guarantee for cheap electricity. History has shown us that once the private sector is allowed to step in, prices increase and massive job shedding is inevitable," says Hlubi-Majola.
She adds the African National Congress (ANC) government and its partners looted and destroyed Eskom.
"Now they have identified privatisation as a convenient way to cover up for more than two decades of rampant mismanagement, looting and corruption."
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Energy Expert, Ted Blom, says the president needs to sit down with unions and discuss the way forward for the state-owned power utility.
"He needs to do it fast, this thing is about to collapse on its own," says Blom.
He predicts if Eskom is properly restructured, close to 3 million jobs will be created and the general public will also benefit.
"The price of electricity will half to below 40 cents or below 50 cents kilowatt per hour. And that alone will create millions of jobs."
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Eskom is currently experiencing a debt burden of R420 billion and kicked off its restructuring process in 2018.