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BusinessLive reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which is the largest union at Eskom, is at loggerheads with newly appointed electricity minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa over his claim that the infrastructure breakdowns at the power utility are due to technical issues and not corruption.
Ramokgopa, who is on a two-week tour of Eskom's power stations said last week at the Tutuka station that most of the issues faced at power stations were technical and not necessarily due to graft. Ramokgopa changed his tune slightly during his visit to Medupi power station on Monday, conceding to workers that there were rotten apples in the entity “who thrive in conditions that makes it possible for them to steal.” On Monday, NUM criticised Ramokgopa’s comments on graft at the power utility, laying the blame for SA’s energy crisis on corruption at Eskom. Bizzah Motubatse, chair of the union’s Highveld Branch, said: “The reasons behind the tripping of units is because of the substandard spares that are being bought with prices that are colluded and inflated. Some of the spares are paid and never arrive at the power stations or are immediately removed from sites through corrupt activities.” He went on to assert: “Load-shedding is implemented as a result of the power stations that are not performing due to trips and half loads. But as the NUM highveld region we are categorically and emphatically disagreeing with the minister’s version that corruption in Eskom does not play any role towards persistent load-shedding.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive
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