Government benefiting from closure of power stations, NUM alleges

Individuals in government have been fingered by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for putting their personal interests above those of the poor as they stand to benefit in the pending closure of Eskom’s five power stations and the accompanying retrenchments of workers.

In a hard-hitting statement on Wednesday, the union said it would embark on a nationwide multi-sector rolling mass action targeting the government and not Eskom.

The union leadership said the government instructed Eskom to close the five power stations, based in Mpumalanga, so as to accommodate Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the sector.

Recently, Eskom announced a plan to shut down the stations at Hendrina, Kriel, Komati, Groot-vlei and Camden, all in Mpumalanga, putting at least 10 000 jobs on the line. The cost-cutting move is seen as the utility’s preparation to introduce the IPPs, whose credentials Num questioned.

NUM general secretary David Sipunzi told The Citizen on the sidelines of the media briefing on Wednesday that they have no doubt that some individuals in government and the ANC were behind the IPPs and stood to benefit from the process.

Sipunzi said the pending closures and the resultant retrenchment of workers clearly demonstrated that certain individuals in government and the ruling ANC are prepared to put their personal interests above those of the poor workers.

Sipunzi lashed out at President Jacob Zuma, who announced during his State of the Nation address that Eskom must fast-track the signing of agreements with the IPPs.

“They do this because they don’t understand the impact of their action on the poor. We are concerned as to what the communists in government say about this. We expected them, as the vanguard of the working class, to oppose this, but their deafening silence is worrying,” Sipunzi said.

“We voted for this government and all they are doing now is destroying our jobs.”

The union said Eskom has to buy electricity from the IPPs at a very high price and sell it at a low price. “This definitely means that, in the near future, Eskom will be bankrupt,” said union president Piet Matosa. “Eskom is implementing the decision of the government, that is why we are going to target the government.”

The union said besides the 10 000 jobs at stake, a further 40 000 individuals might also be jobless as suppliers and trucks ferrying coal to the stations would have to halt operations and possibly retrench workers.

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