I am in block number 5 which equates to 10 hours today being lost with no power. Considering the first 4 hours was only switched back on at 11am being 1 hour late we will be close to losing 50% today or 12 hours. This is not normal as normal countries have corruption, but not to this extent as at least let the country continue to operate.
We knew it was a matter of time before things deteriorated even more regarding the power supply in South Africa and it is now happening. The CEO of the State Owned Enterprise called Eskom was fired yesterday with immediate effect. His crime was conducting an interview letting everyone know how bad things were accusing the government of using the power utility as a slush fund.
The Government was recently given funding to the tune of $8.5 Billion to help assist transition on to renewable energies. The funding was announced last year in October and was given by other nations to move away from coal.
“I expressed my concern to a senior government minister about attempts – in my view – to water down governance around the $8.5 billion US dollars that, by and large through Eskom intervention, we got at COP26. The response was essentially, ‘you know, you have to be pragmatic – in order to pursue the greater good, you have to enable some people to eat a little bit’. So yes, I think it [corruption] is entrenched.”
What the CEO stated was quite shocking ,but kind of what everyone thought was happening anyway as he just confirmed the rumors. Eskom is being milked for $1 Billion per month by the politicians which is a staggering number.
The CEO didn't mention names as these politicians are thugs and they will silence anyone for far less. He didn't mince his words when he said the ANC Government sees Eskom as it's cash cow and has no intention of improving matters.
His advice was the private sector needs to fix this problem by turning to renewables and forgetting about Eskom. I think this is already happening but this will take time and just wish the other countries would stop throwing cash at Africa as it never ends up where it is supposed to. The words of the ministers is they must eat which means they need their slice of the payment.
R1 billion per month being syphoned away is not only criminal but sending the country on a path that it cannot recover from. Every stage of load shedding experienced has an estimated cost of R1 Billion per stage in lost revenue. Today we are on stage 6 but that is a lie as we are on our second batch of 4 hours and have another one tonight of 2 hours. In total we would have lost 11 hours today with 6 of those being between business hours. Imagine what a business is having to put up with as this is not sustainable. Costs of everything are going through the roof due to back up power costs.
If one does the maths we are on stage 10 today and possibly stage 8 tomorrow depending if we have 2 lots of 4 hours or not. That is a minimum of R8 billion being lost every day and there is no end in sight. For the sake of a few the entire country is a disaster zone and cannot see a way out of this unless the politicians are removed, but will be replaced by the same mindset.
Yesterday during the budget speech the minister said we could claim back up to R15K on solar panels but the kit I require is going to cost R200K. This he said would help alleviate the grid but there will only be a few who will do this as the others cannot afford that as an option. I won't as I am leaving and I am sure plenty more are on the same wave length as the country is finished.
We know who the problem is and it is the Minister of Energy and Minerals who is set on having the Karpowership which will net him billions in backhands. The CEO mentioned that the breakdowns are too obvious with contractors sabotaging the power supply by supplying rocks in with the coal to destroy the plants. The ministers are involved here as well so this is a planned rape of the power utility for their own gains.
Today I am already filling up the generator for the second time and still have 5 hours to go. The inverter lasts 4 hours and the first round this morning was just on 5 hours when the power was switched back. This is not a joke and yes you can live with 2 hours per day being lost, but double digits and the fun glamping at home disappears quickly.