Moneyweb reports that Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has given a clear indication that the proposal made by Cosatu to use money managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to support Eskom was being taken seriously.
The PIC manages the funds of the Government Employees pension Fund (GEPF) and other workers monies. Speaking at a lunch on Tuesday, Gordhan commended the federation for the proposal. “Trade union federation Cosatu has come up with its own innovation to protect jobs within the Eskom environment. That is 16 000 people. That is a great move on the part of labour to say we are part of the solution, not just antagonists to any change that is happening,” Gordhan commented. Although not explicitly stated, the problem is that retrenching people from the power utility would be extremely difficult politically. The minister therefore appears prepared to consider the Cosatu proposal, which suggests that the PIC together with the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of South Africa should take over Eskom’s debt. Gordhan began his comments about the power utility by emphasising the extent to which Eskom has been hollowed-out by state capture, and the size of the challenge faced in managing its recovery. The minister added that the process of splitting Eskom into three separate entities – generation, transmission and distribution – was underway.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Patrick Cairns at Moneyweb
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