President Cyril Ramaphosa answered a number of questions in the National Council of Provinces on Thursday (10 October).<\/p>\n
The questions covered a wide range of issues, including the government\u2019s plans for border control, gender-based violence, and the economy.<\/p>\n
However, much of the discussion focused on Eskom and the future of the embattled power utility.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the government will sell any Eskom power stations – as outlined in finance minister Tito Mboweni’s proposed economic policy – Ramaphosa said there were issues with this plan.<\/p>\n
He noted that a number of the country’s power stations are set to be decommissioned due to age, while the country is reliant on the newer stations for power generation.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said that there are also a number of periphery issues to consider, including entire communities which were attached to and relied on power stations for job creation.<\/p>\n
“Unless somebody will come forward and say ‘I will buy this power station, will operate it for the next 20-40 years, and breathe life into it’, then you are looking at a different proposition.<\/p>\n
“But inherently we are saying we are not in the business in selling power stations because which power stations would we sell?”<\/p>\n
Too big to fail\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking on Eskom’s structural issues, Ramaphosa said that the power utility is facing deep-rooted problems of corruption and state capture.<\/p>\n “My own sense is that if there ever was an entity of government that was totally and completely captured, it was Eskom,” he said.<\/p>\n “It was easy to capture because they were able to see how big it is – the biggest corporation in our country – generating revenue that is far above many other companies in our country.<\/p>\n “Once they set their eye on Eskom they went in with great effectiveness.”<\/p>\n Ramaphosa said that much of the damage caused by corruption has only come to light recently as the country has held a number of commissions of inquiry.<\/p>\n He added that Eskom is ‘too big to fail’.<\/p>\n
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