The South African Federation of Trade Unions strongly condemns the City of Ekurhuleni’s plan to procure up to 2,400 MW of electricity from independent power producers (IPPs). At a time when Eskom remains the backbone of South Africa’s electricity system, this is a reckless choice that risks further weakening our public utility and accelerating the privatisation of electricity.
Ekurhuleni cannot claim to be strengthening electricity security while diverting a major portion of its demand and revenue away from Eskom. If municipalities and large customers are encouraged to leave the public utility, Eskom is left with a shrinking customer base, mounting costs and fewer resources to maintain and improve the system. Those costs will not simply disappear. They will be passed on to the public through higher tariffs and deteriorating services.
The crisis at Eskom was not created by public ownership. It was caused by years of political interference, corruption, mismanagement and the failure to invest properly in generation and maintenance. The answer cannot be to use that crisis to dismantle the public utility piece by piece and hand an increasingly important part of electricity supply to private companies whose primary obligation is to their shareholders.
SAFTU does not accept the argument that private procurement is automatically cheaper or better for residents. The City must disclose the full terms of its proposed agreements: the prices residents will ultimately pay, the duration of the contracts, any guarantees or risks carried by the municipality, and the expected effect on Ekurhuleni’s purchases from Eskom. Residents and workers are entitled to know who will bear the costs if these contracts fail to deliver the promised savings.
Ekurhuleni must put the proposal before the public and its council for full scrutiny before making long-term commitments. The city should be strengthening a publicly accountable electricity system, investing in municipal capacity and working with Eskom to secure reliable, affordable power. Instead, it is helping to hollow out the very public utility on which millions of people and workers still depend.
SAFTU calls on the City of Ekurhuleni to halt this course and explain how its plan serves the public interest. Electricity is an essential public service. It must not be turned into another profit-making opportunity for private power producers at the expense of workers, households and the future of Eskom.
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by the General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku
newtonm@saftu.org.za
0661682157
Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564
