TimesLive reports that according to Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, sabotage of the beleaguered power utility’s equipment and coal syndicates are among the criminal activities contributing to one stage of load-shedding.

“I would say on average there is a stage or two of load-shedding that can be attributed to these criminal activities,” De Ruyter indicated in an interview with SAfm. He said the issue of sabotage was serious and they had had an incident at the Lethabo power station where an unknown person cut through a conveyor belt that fed coal into the boilers. That had led to significant disruption. He said at some stations, they experienced mysterious failures and oil leakages. At the Camden power station, when a suspect was apprehended, they found the motive for the sabotage that led to the breaking down of equipment was to secure more work from Eskom. “This is a pattern. We found it at other power stations as well. At Tutuka, for example, people deliberately break equipment because that results in a maintenance callout, which puts money into the pockets of the maintenance contractors,” De Ruyter lamented.   He pointed out that there were many motives for sabotage, but it was difficult to detect, prevent and prosecute.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at BusinessLive

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