Eskom reminder to not pack away your head-torches just yet

Just in case anybody was taking their power supply for granted, Eskom has served a timely reminder not to pack away our head-torches just yet. 

The return of level six load shedding, albeit briefly, took many by surprise, coming as it did after over 300 days of uninterrupted supply. It was widely believed that the dark days were behind us.   

It is testament to the depth of our power supply problem that electrons are not so easily coaxed back into household sockets, no matter the concerted efforts to do so.  

The National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) and the Western Cape Provincial Parliament Ad-hoc Committee on Energy Crisis (ACEC) have added two more acronyms to the cluttered national lexicon, but load shedding persists. 

In some ways the power supply challenge mirrors other seemingly intractable problems eroding morale and business confidence.

Inadequate economic growth, huge unemployment, and infrastructure backlogs are similarly entrenched in the public discourse. The stalled budget amplified these concerns.  

In the meantime, South Africans grow increasingly frustrated, and in some cases desperate, underlining the fact that there is no time to lose.  

Budget constraints translate into crumbling Court rooms, ill-equipped police, and potholed roads. Last week Eskom reported its employees were increasingly targeted by violent criminals, particularly in the Eastern Cape.

These criminal activities resulted in financial losses amounting to R2.6 million, Eskom said, at a time when the parastatal is in severe financial distress. 

So, while load shedding may be an inconvenience to most of us, it is also a reminder that the country is running a race against time to fix severe systemic faults before they reach the point of no repair.  

In effect the country is doing open heart surgery on itself, while running away from a charging elephant. 

But at least we are still in the race.

John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry