Fixing a broken Eskom

So it seesm quite obvious that the ANC corruption and greed is at the core of the electricity crisis that we now face. We as south African taxpayers will be faced with high interest loans and high electricity costs to fund the greed of the elite within the ANC political party.
The corruption really runs deep in South Africa. I doubt that we will ever be able to heal it.

Good article and well set out. The corruption should amaze me but it doesn't. What is really worrying me is the flaccid management style of Zuma. Does he ever hold anyone to account and why should he step into the Maroga resignation? If he appoints a minister they should be left to manage. If they're inept they should be fired. What is Manuel doing other than driving his 'inappropriate' BMW? Wasn't he moved into a post to act as watchdog? Will we ever receive an explanation for the excessive cost of the boilers?

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-eskom-extortion-now/sign.html

This so stinks of corruption!

So these people in the ANC (Chancellor House) who owns 25% made the boilers more expensive by millions awarded the tender to them self and…

MMM

SA AT ITS BEST, ANYONE SUPRISED?
I M NOT!!!!!!!

Chancellor house has tentacles in everything. They also have an interest in the lottery. It's for that reason that I refuse to buy a lottery ticket. The lottery ticket went up which seems to have been a first in the world. I've just installed solar heating and am looking at other way of drastically reduce my electricity consumption. I'll be damned if I am going to support Chancellor House any more than I have to. They make billions a month!!!!

The powers that be are making sure that we are slaves and they do not care what we say! Their followers believe that they are gods and they will remain in power with the continued support of these misguided souls for a very long time to the detriment of this country - heaven help us!

Looking at things realistically in an unbiased manner is something that is not achievable in SA!

Every decision is made purely on one premise--- "what's in it for me?" Heaven help us!

Is there anything left to break in this country - only our spirit and they are working on that, believe me!

Heaven help us - there are none so blind as those who will not see. If the writing is not on the wall for us yet, it cannot be too far away!

I believe and always have that racism and religion are the two major problems facing all our world and no one has any way of resolving those issues.

When we can then the world will be great!

Well researced article and excellent points brought through. I understand why Bobby Godsell resigned and also understand why Minister Barbara hogan is going to ask him back this weekend. One person cannot sort out he crisis, but a person with vision leading ESKOM is a great place to start. The questions that he posed to the ESKOM management were valid. Why were all these critical issues not already dealt with?

The whole electricity crisis is no suprise to some of us. A long time ago, way before Mr "I-will-make-taxpayers-solve-the-mess" Maroga, the Mbeki fratenity was told by experts to upgrade the electricity infrastructure in SA so as to avoid a crisis in the future,but because Mbeki's puppets knew better they wasted money creating failed schemes and stuffing their faces

ESKOM's future is in tarters. In a nutshell, ESKOM need 1,2 trillion for there total expasion programme in the coming 5-years. Who must pay the bill? Government or the public? or both...take your pick. ESKOM board had encomapasse alot of experience and good strategy to find adequate funding and support local or internationally. However, political meddleling cost them heavly. Nonetheless, one wonders whether that ESKOM expasion programme will not be another 'Arms deal in your pocked'?

It is astonishing,why some people like robin & storm deviate from the topic. The editor speaks about funding for medupi power station,some people just deviate in tangent way i.e talking about BMW`s and corruption. The issue of Eskom is being exacerbated by poor planning by the apartheid gorvenment. The issue at stake now is to rectify the mistakes of the past.The issue of corruption wont go away as long as we still have greedy people,its like apartheid,some people still practice it, but it must be addressed.Personally i think the we need to fund eskom because at the end all will suffer,but again the monopolysing of Eskom needs to come to an end. There is alot of power generation technlogy available in the market e.g PBMR, air energy etc

seeing it is fashionable to write nonsense about anything remotely government related and label it corrupt, this is my two cents worth.

firstly, is the point of this article the financial status of eskom and how it needs money as the heading says, or is it about corruption in the awarding of contracts to chancellor house and how the anc is dictating policy at eskom to influence spending on these projects? i conclude the problem arises as a result of two people writing a story on totally diverse issues ie finances at eskom and building of power stations as favourable to the anc.

secondly, facts or opinion is selectively gleened from a world bank report to make mischievous points. a price tag is placed on the cost of building a power station (excluding financing cost)based on the costs of power stations around the world but specifically looking at examples whose selection are not explained. why? the business cases of power station projects around the world are driven by varying factors. and that is exactly the point the writer(s) avoid making with the significantly lower costs of building power stations in china. it must also be noted that china has and is still building very large power stations as we speak. please research what they cost for us as well.

thirdly, it is not clear what the worth of the hitachi contract is to chancellor house, so how do you get to the R5,7 billion profit for chancellor house? for a 25% stakeholder, this would imply the profit marging on on a R38billion deal is in the region of R22.8 billion? this is very sensible coming from a so-called 'respected' newspaper.

in a capitalist market, i also find it intriguing that an impression is created that the tender should have been awarded to anyone BUT chancellor house consortium! the writer(s) of this article has a serious issue with these guys winning the tender! please explain why the anc should not have a fund raising arm. like everyone else has. or is this the issue? is this fund raising when in power actually what you are after?

also, you unashamedly 'assume' the anc is rushing eskom to proceed on the kusile project for the purpose of enriching themselves when everybody in the country is aware of the shortage of electricity! you want them to delay this project to show impartiality to the financial plight of chancellor house. if they are already making money on medupi why would it affect them? maybe they need the project to proceed because there is a need for power in the country! to go on irresponsibly to allege the president meddled in this affair to look after the interests of the chancellor house is pure conjecture!

in conclusion, a potentially revealing article comes out exactly like what has been typical mail and guardian reporting of late. a hidden agenda to be the voice of the opposition in this country.

unfortunately in south africa, the media is not honest to take a stand on whether they are leftist, centrist or seeing things from a right wing position, which seem to be what the mail and guardian is regressing towards. especially judging by the people who contribute in their forums!

edwin matlapeng

Eskom should try and get some of the people in Soweto to start paying for services. That should bring in a few bob.

The main issue that remains is that the ANC government has been lying to us over the last few years in an attempt to hide their failings. Their ability to govern the country has been severely compromised on several counts. So yes, they are corrupt. Not more than the apartheid government, but not less either. Generally the tone is becomming more racist than ever and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to become a basket case like zimbabwe. That is my opinion of course, zimbabweans do not think they are a basket case, they refuse to acknowledge the millions that have died due to bad governance. The same is happening here.

Edwin, you tried really hard to sound intelligent but then you show your green, yellow and black colours and your opinion falls flat and has no meaning. You will defend the defenseless if it is wrapped in green, yellow and black.Sorry mate but you are wrong!!!!

Edwin Matlapeng,
You wrote “It is fashionable to write nonsense about anything remotely government related and label it corrupt.
But corruption (together with mismanagement) is exactly what is wrong with the government.
The fact that it is killing SA, makes it not “fashionable”, but rather “imperative” to expose this rot.

Your entire following piece is a mixture of apologist gobbledygook, shooting the messenger and sheer denialism.
It looks, walks and sounds like a duck. Like it or not –that is what it is.

Ntafi - Maybe you missed one of the key points in the article. The power stations that need funding are expensive because Chancellor house (ANC) has hugely inflated the contract price. Now Eskom is asking the South African taxpayer (you and me) to pay the inflated prices, so a few elite ANC members can line their pockets even more.

Too few realise that we have an ever-diminishing economy because this is a built-in factor created by legislation.

It's built in by BEE. If it were 'broad-based' as the original rhetoric had it, things might just be better or at least hopeful.

But as it stands BEE has created a false economy in which unproductive money circulates pointlessly. The only product is diminishing returns all round. Well done to the ideologues of SA.