[DEBATE] : Labour input to the electricity crises stakeholder summit, by Zwelinzima Vavi, 16 May 2008

[Dominic Tweedie]

Labour input to the electricity crises stakeholder summit, by
Zwelinzima Vavi, 16 May 2008


Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana,
Secretary General of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe,
NEDLAC Executive Director, Herbert Mkhize,

Comrades and Friends,

Labour expresses appreciation for the convening of this summit under
the auspice of NEDLAC. We thank the ANC, in particular its Secretary
General, for having taken the initiative.

The summit has come at an important juncture. South Africa is
respected everywhere in the world for its ability to confront its
challenges and resolve problems through open and frank discussions
amongst key role players. We need to ensure that the electricity
crisis is dealt with in a more open and collective fashion in order to
minimise the economic impact, particularly for the poor and working
people.

The emergence of the electricity crisis at the beginning of this year
plunged mining and other industries into near paralysis. The
subsequent regime of rolling black-outs, imposed without any
consultation, led to a rising threat of job losses, the disruption of
working time and deepening distrust. While we appreciate the ending of
the black outs, we have to make sure that this type of unilateral
action, at the cost of our economy and our people, is never imposed
again.

We need to remember, always, the social context of this economic
crisis. South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the
world, with extraordinarily high levels of poverty and unemployment.
Any solution to the electricity crisis must take these realities into
account. We cannot afford to give up our ideal of shared growth. We
cannot afford to add to the burdens already facing poor households,
whether through ludicrous increases in the price of electricity or
through higher joblessness as a result of poorly designed rationing.

It is now a known fact that the crisis is primarily a result of poor
planning. In 1998 the White Paper on Energy acknowledged that
government had to invest in electricity infrastructure or face a
shortage by 2007. But the neo-liberal agenda adopted under GEAR led to
inaction when bold steps were demanded. Eskom itself aimed more to
increase its returns than to ensure a secure electricity supply. Now
we are told that we require an investment in electricity
infrastructure in excess of R340 billion to meet existing and future
demand.

In short, we now face a dual challenge: managing the low level of
electricity reserves in ways that minimise economic and social costs,
and paying for the new investments required to get us out of the
crisis in the long run. We have joined the process here to seek a
collective response to this crisis. Still, we have made it clear that
whilst we are willing to play a role to solve the problem we cannot
ask workers and the poor to bear the brunt of the cost. That would
only aggravate our social and economic problems in the future.

We welcome the progress we have made thus far in terms of developing a
policy framework that would help us address the crises. However it is
clear that the summit has come a little too soon. We are still being
asked to approve price hikes that will hit ordinary South Africans
hard. We need to understand the full range of options in order to
ensure both that the costs are minimised and that they are not pushed
onto the poor.

We have agreed in principle that some increase in tariffs may be
unavoidable, but we cannot simply write a blank cheque for Eskom
because they tell us their costs have risen. We need a better
understanding of the possibilities for direct state investment as well
as managing tariffs to ensure the burden does not fall on poor
households.

Yes, we do accept that we are facing a difficulty that can't be
resolved without some level of pain. Our starting point however is
that it is not a sin to have cheap electricity in South Africa. The
question we have to deal with is how to manage the electricity
shortfall without further damaging the economy. We cannot accept
further imposition of rationing on the economy, with the attendant job
losses. But a huge price shock, even if spread over five years, may
have almost as bad an effect.

We will have to be creative in this process, without falling back on
neo-liberal remedies that assume Eskom must turn a profit. We are a
developing country that requires an active and developmental state. We
need to reflect more carefully about the comparative impact of
increasing tariffs compared to other forms of financing for Eskom's
production costs. This has not yet been done.

Accordingly we propose that a smaller high level leadership committee
of between 5 to 10 people comprising of the ANC leadership and NEDLAC
parties be convened to attempt to resolve this in the next few days.
We realise that we don't have a lot of time, but we need to take the
time to find the best possible solutions. We cannot afford the kind of
rash action that led to rolling black outs at great cost to working
people.

We are committed to the energy efficient measures, including saving
measures that would reduce overall usage. We will urge and campaign
amongst our members and the broader public to support a range of
savings initiatives. These include:

* Switching off geysers during the day,
* Changing to compact fluorescent lamps, and
* Using electric heaters only as a last resort

While we promote these savings initiatives, we must continue to see
similar interventions from both government and business. In
particular, we know that there is scope for both commerce and
government to reduce the use of electricity and temperature controls
in buildings. We need to see a concerted plan to reduce electricity
use in these key sectors, where cuts will have the least harm for
working people and the economy.

We have to avoid at all costs any more enforced load shedding or
rationing. Those are the most expensive options for our people.

The recent announcement in the mining sector of imminent retrenchments
due to the ongoing rationalisation by Eskom to reduce electricity
supply to major mining companies will not be accepted.

Hear us today: We will not allow workers to pay for the mistakes of
others. We will oppose any job losses that may directly or indirectly
result from this crisis.

Again we thank all those behind this initiative. Quite clearly we need
more innovative thinking to solve all the outstanding issues.

Thank you for listening.


Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets
Braamfontein, 2017

P.O. Box 1019
Johannesburg, 2000
SOUTH AFRICA

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24
Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940/ 086 603 9667
Cell: 0828217456
E-Mail: patrick at cosatu.org.za


-- 
Blog at: http://domza.blogspot.com/
Communist University web site at: http://amadlandawonye.wikispaces.com/
Subscribe for free e-mail updates at:
http://groups.google.com/group/Communist-University/
Library of documents (CU "CD") at: http://cu.domza.net/
dominic.tweedie at gmail.com