Eskom saboteurs need to be arrested

There were two chilling facts which emerged on Wednesday from briefings to the media and parliament about the rapidly enlarging black hole that is Eskom.

One: there is criminal malfeasance behind some of the plant breakdowns.

Two: not much is being done about it.

State Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan – normally happy to lash critics or the media – was decidedly coy when telling lawmakers that the pattern at Eskom is that “just as things get better”, then “some people tweet things”… and “then there are problems which necessitate load shedding”.

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If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, minister, then it is a duck. So call it what it is: sabotage. Eskom CEO André de Ruyter admitted that “mischievous acts” had happened at Eskom, causing plant downtime.

One he cited was where employees had opened water valves to release demineralised water from a boiler. This water cannot simply be replaced from a tap – so that major piece of equipment was offline for many hours.

Yet, De Ruyter’s answer to this is to install close circuit cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to monitor such areas to detect such behaviour.

What about calling the cops and locking up the saboteurs, though?

Gordhan also noted, with world-class understatement, that “there is still a tendency to engage in corrupt activities”… and then called on parliament to encourage Eskom workers to be honest and “stop any nefarious activities” they are involved in.

Seriously? That’s your plan – ask parliament to tell the naughty people to behave?

De Ruyter also acknowledged that state capture had not stopped just because a “certain family” had flown to Dubai.

Between him and Gordhan, the briefing was more typical South African deflecting in the “it’s not my fault” manner, which we have developed to a fine art.

Saboteurs need to be arrested. That should be your lightbulb moment, gentlemen…