Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - SA labour unions say they will oppose a proposal to partially privatise Eskom limiting options for the government to shore up the supplier and resolve the energy crisis..
The Treasury said on Wednesday it was asked by a government-appointed commission tasked with finding a solution to the crisis to look into several options, including a proposal to partially privatise Eskom or sell some of its assets in order to secure further funding to expand generating capacity.
READ: Brown refutes Eskom privatisation plans
But the unions see any form of privatisation as a threat to jobs and efforts to extend access to the grid to more South Africans.
"We don't support the privatisation of Eskom. It is a strategic company that has a key mandate to electrify the country. We don't believe it should be in the hands of the private market," said Castro Ngobese, a spokesperson for the National Union of Metalworkers, which represents many workers at the utility.
The National Union of Mineworkers, which also has members at Eskom, said in a statement "any intention whatsoever to sell Eskom or part of Eskom will be resisted. Eskom is not for sale".
'Not a panacea'
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party would comment once the proposal was sent to the party for policy discussion, its secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.
However, Mantashe said last November that privatisation of electricity supply was "not a panacea".
Public enterprises minister, Lynne Brown, said she too was not in favour of privatising basic services such as electricity.
"I actually don't really believe we should have privatisation when it comes to basic services," she said.
A decision to partially privatise Eskom could revive previous plans for the company, which is battling the worst power supply shortages since 2008. Brown said the supply crunch could last for the next three years.
Eskom's funding gap to 2018 is estimated at R200bn, while it expects to receive R23bn from the government this year. The utility has also asked energy regulator, Nersa, to allow it to raise power prices.
"South Africa is facing a substantial energy supply deficit. As such, there is money to be made, and if the price is right and the regulations that come with the sale of these assets are favourable, there will be buyers," said Bart Stemmet, an economist at research house NKC.
