Johannesburg - Privatisation did not have a role to play in the electricity generating sector, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Friday.
"Cosatu remains convinced that moves towards privatisation will
ultimately wreck a crucial public national service and we shall
continue to campaign vigorously to prevent the sell-off of a vital
public asset," said spokesperson Patrick Craven in reaction to
President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address.
Zuma on Thursday evening confirmed his administration would set
up an independent system operator "separate from Eskom" to look
into the participation of independent power producers.
The plan would seek to protect the poor from rising electricity
prices.
Cosatu was one of the key players fighting Eskom's exorbitant
tariff price hike application, bemoaning the effect it would have
on the poor.
The parastatal, amidst much internal strife over the resignation
of its chief executive Jacob Maroga, applied for a 35 percent
tariff hike for each of the next three years to fund much needed
expansion to meet the country's growing power needs.
The federation was worried that Zuma's address lacked
recognition of the country's unemployment crisis, exacerbated by
the loss of almost a million jobs last year as the country braved
the global economic downturn and a recession.
"The federation was disappointed that there was no appreciation
of the full extent of the massive crisis of unemployment, poverty
and inequality," said Craven in a statement.
Cosatu has long been pushing for an overhaul of the economy.
"Government policy must be based on the understanding that our
economy was in crisis even before the recession hit us, as a result
of the legacy from colonialism and apartheid of over-dependence on
the export of raw materials and capital intensive sectors.
"That is why [it] is essential that we urgently adopt a
completely new growth path to transform our economy into one based
on labour-intensive manufacturing industry and one that meets the
basic needs of our people."
Zuma, in his address, touched on government's long-awaited
facelifted industrial policy action plan - which would be fleshed
out on its introduction to Parliament by Trade and Industry
Minister Rob Davies.
Cosatu was "particularly concerned" about Zuma's silence on the
creation of "decent work", the spread of casual labour and labour
broking.
It was worried that while Zuma committed to stepping up the
fight against corruption, the focus remained on corruption at
"lower levels".
"Cosatu repeats its insistence that all public representatives
must be forced to choose whether they want to be servants of the
public or in business to make profits.
"They cannot be both at the same time.
"The succession of corruption scandals and the spread of the
capitalist culture of greed and self-enrichment are threatening to
unravel the fabric of society."
He reiterated a call by Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
for a "lifestyle audit" of all Cabinet ministers, director generals
and deputy director generals to determine why they can afford to
have "more than one mansion", holiday homes and to take expensive
holidays.
- Sapa