Who is going to write a sign for Eskom?

I have a tendency to forget, overlook and take important things lightly. Just yesterday, my family kindly requested that I transport two fruit platters to an event.

Thank goodness they know my weakness, so they placed a large, handwritten note in capital letters on our front door stating: “PLZ, FRUITS” with an arrow pointing to the fridge. I used the back door.

When one is tasked with certain responsibilities and others try their best to assist, but even this does not seem to help, it only makes sense for someone to take over the duties.

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Nonprofit organisations (NPOs) in Gauteng – who have been lending a helping hand to the province’s department of social development for years – were shocked last week when the entity decided to reshuffle its budget.

The department allocated more funds to the treatment of substance abuse, but what this means is that less money ends up with those who aid the elderly, those living with HIV/ Aids, children and the differently abled. This was all done with little consultation with the NPOs.

The NPOs would have written a huge sign on the door for the department, in capital letters, clearly noting “PLZ DO NOT CUT OUR FUNDING”, with an arrow pointing to the various projects that need even more money.

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On its website, the department states that its mission is to “transform our society by building conscious and capable citizens through the provision of integrated social development services”.

Does this translate to the department being able to reconfigure the R2.3 billion budget for NPOs without sufficient warning? Of course, no-one is disputing that Gauteng has a huge problem when it comes to substance abuse.

Some heads-up would have been appreciated by NPOs, as they are playing an assisting role for the department. The same mind-boggling logic is prevailing at our power utility, where they are unable to supply enough electricity to the country.

To mitigate the effects of load shedding, the small town of Frankfort hired a company in 2011 to manage its electricity supply. The company replaced substations, constructed solar farms and replaced distribution poles.

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Things were going well until Eskom took the community to court for using independently generated solar power. Who is going to write a sign for Eskom?