LETTER: Loadshedding problems

(i) Firstly, (taxpaying) South Africans do not “need to become a part of the solution”! We have always diligently and responsibly paid our bills.

(ii) Secondly, the fat cats at Eskom are completely, unequivocally, responsible for the bad position in which the country finds itself. I have been told the previous CEO of Eskom earned R20million a year. At the Duvha Power Station, a test was being done on the turbine over-speed protection system. The three independent protection systems did not kick in, and the person who should have been at his post with his fingers poised above the emergency button, was not there. The result, the turbine blew up. The official reason for this was “unforeseen maintenance”. An additional consequence is that one of the units at Duvha is required to remain shutdown for 18 months.

I cannot help wondering whether the meaning of the term “maintenance” is understood by those who are responsible for ensuring that [regular] maintenance is done.

(ii) Thirdly, more households now have access to electricity than before 1994: True. But [there was] no planning and so the power stations have not been able to cope with the increased demand. Add to this the frequent cable thefts, electricity thefts all over, and you have a wonderful “plan” in position for a collapse of the grid. Sadly, the law in this country is on the side of the perpetrator – the police can’t cope (or won’t?).

Lastly, the moral climate in the country has completely changed in that the demarcation line between right and wrong is non-existent. Everything is relative. The Book of Judges in scripture says it all: “At that time there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Yours faithfully

Alice in the Real World

Barbara van Niekerk