Tag: Eskom

This riveting study shows how the intersection of technology and politics has shaped South African history since the 1960s. It is impossible to understand South Africa’s energy crisis without knowing this history.

When André de Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa. Aside from neglected equipment, ageing power stations and an eroded skills base, he discovered that Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale.

As a result of the collapse of almost every government service and state owned enterprise, South Africans are perforce increasingly seeking ways to avoid or replace government services. State insurers have also failed.

We are all only too aware of the dire state of South Africa’s state-owned power provider - Eskom. We now live in permanent load shedding, and only the stages of load shedding alternate depending on the time of day, energy consumption and how much, or little power is available on the grid at a time.

Every South African is currently faced with the ongoing negative effects of rolling electricity blackouts, which Government euphemistically refers to as “load shedding”. It affects our businesses, our homes, our livelihoods, our safety and our faith in the future of our country.

Government’s conduct over the last century and more has led to the situation South Africa finds itself in today as regards the provision of electricity. Tracing a series of legislative and regulatory interventions in the electricity market, we can see how this came to be.

2023 is poised to be a year of accelerated change in and for South Africa. As the country heads toward a general election in 2024, a sea-change is on the cards. The African National Congress (ANC) are by all accounts on the point of obtaining below 50% at the voting booth; some estimates have the party even under 45%.

The National Budget delivered by South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, showed that government is making some significant financial commitments to restore Eskom to viability and maintain social grants. But with GDP growth projected at 1.4% on average from 2023 to 2025, and a potential tapering-off of the commodities boom over the medium term, how will government fund these commitments?

The 2023 Budget was tabled to Parliament on 22 February 2023 by South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala recently suggested that Eskom should consider hiring an international candidate to succeed its outgoing CEO, André de Ruyter. Although Mr. Tshabalala is trying to be helpful, his suggestion misses the mark. A foreign appointee – no matter how capable or qualified – will not be able to fix the mess at Eskom. Another South African in the post won’t succeed either.