Privatise Eskom now
05 August 2014
The DA welcomes the mooted partial privatisation of Eskom. The Business Day today reported that a number of unnamed Cabinet Ministers and government officials were advocating for the unbundling and partial privatisation of Eskom (see BDLive report).
The DA has always advocated for the privatisation of electricity supply generation, and the unbundling of Eskom's supply monopoly.
It would be hugely beneficial to our economy. It would take financial pressure off the state by getting private investors to help fund electricity supply generation. It would also increase efficiency in the sector by introducing competition. And as the industry grows, it has real potential to also create a large number of jobs, particularly in the renewable energy sector.
In order for this to happen however, the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) Bill must be brought back and finally passed by Parliament. This is only the first necessary step in reforming our electricity sector and it is imperative that a comprehensive end state vision is developed for the sector that we can all work towards realising.
The Bill, first announced during the President's State of the Nation address in 2010 - and which he subsequently supported in his most recent state of the nation address - was debated and passed by the full energy committee in 2013, only to have ministerial interference prevent it from being debated and passed in the House in Parliament's previous term.
As it stands, government's promise to radically transform the energy sector and provide the economy with much needed electricity for economic growth and job opportunities amounts to double-speak - supporting the ISMO Bill on the one hand yet dragging its feet on implementation in the House.
This is yet another example of ideological confusion and policy paralysis in the tripartite alliance. It is clear for all to see that South Africa desperately needs private players to assist in this industry. A number of Ministers and government officials reportedly agree. The problem is that the internal politics of the ruling alliance - in particular the out-dated statist tendencies of the SACP and COSATU - are blocking this crucial reform from taking place.
If government is serious about its commitment towards a reformed energy sector that will add to job creation efforts, it will stand up to the leftists in its own ranks and implement this rational proposal.
Government cannot allow ANC alliance partners to hold the economy to ransom - as they did with the youth wage subsidy.
The DA will support every effort to reform this sector and introduce private players into the industry. Government simply can't afford to tackle this challenge alone.
Statement issued by Lance Greyling MP & Natasha Michael MP, DA Shadow Minister of Energy & DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, August 5 2014
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