City Press reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa apparently warned leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) last week that the situation at Eskom was so bad that it was possible the parastatal would not be able to pay salaries at the end of next month.  

This was said in a meeting held to discuss ways to rescue the state-owned power utility.  Energy Minister Jeff Radebe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan were also at the three-hour meeting.  But, Eskom said the suggestion that it would not be able to pay salaries was “not true”.  An NUM leader said Ramaphosa later gave assurances at the meeting that salaries would be paid because government had secured funding from the China Development Bank.  “The president said he got a report that says that Eskom was not going to pay salaries at the end of April.  But he also assured us that Eskom will pay salaries because they have got an arrangement with China about a loan for Eskom.  He said the matter of paying salaries was then resolved.  But on the future of Eskom, the president is saying that we must deeply engage on the issue of unbundling because, if we don’t unbundle, there is no way that we can get Eskom right,” the NUM leader related.  Last year, Eskom signed a government-backed loan with the China Development Bank following bilateral talks between Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping.  The loan was to be used for the construction of the Kusile Power Station.

• Read the full original of Ngwako Modjadji’s report on this story at City Press

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