The South African Communist Party (SACP) has laid the blame for the ongoing crisis at power utility Eskom.
This blame is laid on what SACP terms as the “corruption of corporate capture of the state” at the energy producer and supplier.
In a statement viewed on Monday, 25 February 2019, the SACP said the introduction of independent power producers (IPPs) to Eskom has had a negative effect on the state-owned company.
It called for action to be taken against looters of the power utility and for dodgy payments to be recovered from them.
The party argued that the IPPs have been destructive for the power utility, which is already US$28.6 billion in debt.
“This model does not build Eskom but has contributed to its financial crisis. In other words, the model was designed to milk Eskom and use the money lost by Eskom as a subsidy for the profit of the private companies, the so-called IPPs, for wealth accumulation by their individual owners,” the SACP said.
It said the privatisation of renewable energy generation “through the destructive IPP model is a typical example of building the private sector and promoting private companies by means of measures that destroy publicly owned productive assets.”
“Eskom did not receive any ownership, in full or in part, of any the IPPs, which it has been financing. This must be addressed retrospectively.”
The SACP called for localised production within the state-owned utility, including of renewable energy.
This, the party said, would create enough jobs to keep the current Eskom workforce employed and to create new jobs.
– APA
