When I listen to President Cyril Ramaphosa, I am struck by how naïve he must think citizens are.
Politicians frequently spread a false belief that they know what is best for the people. Worse, they pretend to be more mindful of the common good than their own when they use political office to pursue their interest. Of course, time reveals the truth, as we have seen with the Phala Phala fiasco.
Read:
Public choice theory taught us that the self-interest of politicians will always trump the people’s preferences. Further, the governing elite in the country has timeously shown that they will change their motivations even when ensuing actions negatively affect the majority.
It is amusing, if that is the right word, that the ANC’s selfishness and greed mean that despite knowing they are incapable of fixing Eskom, they will not ask for help.
They don’t ask simply because Eskom is a cash cow for many corrupt politicians.
Not a ‘solution’
The clearest expression of the depth of the mess is the establishment of the Ministry of Electricity to pacify South Africans into thinking that having a dedicated department means attending to the problem.
The ANC/government/Eskom team cannot solve the power crisis in South Africa because mismanagement and corruption plague Eskom.
The same malady pervades the ANC-led government – manifesting in a corrupt ecosystem of political and private business actors who have milked public resources for private/individual gain.
As I have pointed out, this government does not know how to fix the ills affecting the country, not just the electricity problems. Worse, those in government do not have ideas about how to solve the problems. Instead, we have ageing men and women led by a president who is either out of his depth or turning a blind eye, or who does not care.
Additionally, as a collective, those leading government have neither the skills nor the knowledge required to troubleshoot complex problems like Eskom – or even to understand the impact load shedding has on the economy, employment, and the safety and security of the country.
Eskom can no longer be relied on to supply South Africa with electricity to power the economy and for citizens to get through the day.
The country experienced its first load shedding towards the end of 2007, and the effect was an unexpected disruption in business activity across industries and households.
Today, 16 years later, the collapse of the national grid is a distinct possibility. We have witnessed over the years how Eskom went from being an efficient and well-functioning entity ranked among the best electricity suppliers in the world to being in a state of crisis with regular plant breakdowns, massive debt, and minimal reserve margins. To say it has resulted in an unreliable electricity supply is an understatement.
Entanglement with politics
The crisis must be understood as incidents arising from the interaction between politics, policy choices such as government electrification targets, physical infrastructure (substation and generation plants) and poor management.
The entanglement with politics also means placing ideology above common sense, facilitating corrupt practices that have led to the financial mismanagement of Eskom.
Unfortunately, the reign of ANC politics also means privatising Eskom is unlikely to happen.
Firstly, the entity is a significant contributor to the party’s patronage network. Why privatise what feeds you?
Read:
Secondly, they will use the threat of privatisation of electricity supply as a campaigning tool, claiming that once in place, residents will not be able to afford electricity. They will not speak about how privatisation will lead to competition and give consumers choice instead of being beholden to a failing entity.
Thirdly, it is unavoidable that Eskom will inevitably collapse. The explosion of demand that played havoc with the grid, the underinvestment, poor maintenance, the inability to service massive debt, and the corporate governance failure at Eskom is the clear and present danger. These incidents are among many causes and shifts that have led Eskom to where it is today, fragile and on the verge of collapse.
In the fourth instance, government policy concerning electricity can be defined as lacking focus, and often distracted amid the declining political landscape.
For example, despite warnings in the 1998 White Paper about limited generation capacity in the face of increasing demand and the need to build new plants, with diversification including allowing the private sector in, what did policymakers do? The government failed to act on these warnings, leading to negligence regarding Eskom’s core business.
Instead, the country is saddled with disastrous policy attempts that have yet to work.
Finally, the Ramaphosa-led government is in grave danger of presiding over the dawn of discontent, leading to economic collapse, massive job losses, and without an income, deteriorating living conditions, including rolling blackouts for more than eight hours a day.
Ultimately the government might rise when more people are left without food, services or hope; with nothing to lose.
Currently, the government and those leading Eskom seem intent on blundering on, and there is now the risk of Stage 10 load shedding as winter approaches.
Worse yet, whatever plans are being discussed for Eskom are falling short (yes, even after establishing the Ministry of Electricity) and cannot plausibly undo the damage load shedding has already done to the entity.
