The future of Eskom is the future of SA. If it fails, the whole country does. The urgency and commitment that is needed to rescue Eskom is desperate. Without a sustainable solution the government’s finances will topple into the abyss and the economy will be plunged into darkness.
The solution is clear, but it is hard. Every part of society and every stakeholder must pull together and shoulder the pain to put Eskom right. That needs very clear political leadership and very clear leadership of Eskom. Right now, the two are at odds.
Eskom’s problem is a solvency one and an operating one. The solvency problem is a shareholder and lender problem. The operating one is an executive management problem. These are different competencies and different parties should be responsible for addressing them. But both must be solved if the solution for Eskom is to be sustainable.
As a country, we are capable of pulling together when we have to. The ending of the Zuma kleptocracy is just the most recent example (even if that project is not yet finished). Eskom is every bit as demanding and just as in need of a comprehensive solution in which everyone plays their part: Politicians, business, taxpayers, labour, electricity consumers, lenders and civil society. Each of those parties will have to take pain. When politics is said to be the art of the possible, it is often a call for pragmatism. But we need an idealism born of belief in SA’s ability to solve complex problems...