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Cape Town - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed its dismay at the move by Exxaro [JSE:EXX] to transform itself from a black-owned company to a black-empowered one.
The union was responding in a statement on Monday to a squabble between Eskom and Exxaro after it announced plans to reduce its black ownership from 50% to 30%.
Eskom's coal procurement policy requires all the mines that supply coal to its power stations to have a black ownership target of more than 50% throughout the life of the mine.
Eskom acting CEO Matshela Koko said it’s policy of sourcing coal from majority black-owned suppliers is a thorn in the side of many of the company’s main coal suppliers.
NUM said it was disturbed by what it called alleged reckless utterances made by Exxaro's executive head of stakeholder Mzila Mthenjane.
It related to a quote reported in Business Day with Mthenjane stating that despite the mines replacement of Black shareholding structure, Exxaro would continue to be the largest black-owned JSE-listed entity and the largest black-owned supplier to Eskom.
NUM said it supports Eskom’s position in challenging decision by Exxaro shareholders and as well as its executives.
"We further demand that Eskom must apply strict measures in ensuring that Exxaro complies or faces isolation from dealing with Eskom."
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) backed the power utility.
“We encourage Eskom to instruct Exxaro and all its other suppliers to have 51% black ownership through workers' ownership schemes, and must never retreat on the demand that Exxaro must be empowered at minimum of 51%,” spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement last week.
“This should be so because in anyway, the mines which Exxaro mines coal from are assets that are largely owned by Eskom.”
The ANCYL said it must be compulsory for any company doing business with government and state-owned entities (SOEs) to have 60% black ownership. It encouraged National Assembly to effect this call.
"We call on our National Assembly to make it law across all departments that for people to trade with the state and SOEs, the company must have 60%... black ownership," spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize said in a statement on Friday.
