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DAM-L SA Union reminds government of broken promises on electricity/LS (fwd)
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Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 08:29:06 -0800
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From: lori@irn.org (Lori Pottinger)
Subject: SA Union reminds government of broken promises on electricity/LS
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South African Municipal Workers Union
Press Statement
Wednesday October 31st, 2000
1:30pm
SAMWU reminds government of broken promises on electricity
The South African Municipal Workers Union wholeheartedly supports COSATU's
condemnation of the sale of 30% of Eskom to energy multinationals.
The sale puts a decisive end to any pretence that registering parastatals
under the Companies Act is not a precursor to privatisation.
When the Eskom Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament in 1998, registering
the parastatal as a company, government claimed that this would not lead to
privatisation. By April this year, the public enterprises ministry and
Eskom were still denying that even as little as 10% of Eskom would be sold,
even though the British press reported that Eskom's Thulani Gcabashe was in
Europe to inform finance institutions that Eskom would be privatised later
this year.
The sale of 30% of Eskom also puts a very decisive end to election promises
by the major political parties that the poor are to be given free
electricity. There can be no denying that the Eskom sell off and the
current onslaught of privatisation of municipal power stations will raise
the cost of electricity to households by between 22 and 50 per cent. This
leaves no room for free electricity of any kind.
Eskom comes with a debt burden of billions. Privatisation is going to lead
to extensive job losses and higher electricity prices when the new owners
try to reduce Eskom`s debt and secure their desired return on equity. It
cannot be otherwise.
The poor have already shown that they are not prepared to be victims of
market forces when it comes to basic services. Eskom has had to fork out
hundreds of thousands of rand to finance private security hit squads armed
with guns, to accompany them when they disconnect people who are unable to
pay. Electricity Crisis Committees have been formed in Soweto where several
pensioners died this winter after two months of disconnections saw 100
households cut off every week. It is logical to assume that there will be a
serious nationwide crisis if a free lifeline of basic services is not
provided as a matter of urgency.
SAMWU will wholeheartedly support any industrial action that the NUM and
NUMSA may take arising out of the dispute they have declared. The union is
going to urge its 120 thousand members to prepare themselves to take to the
streets for as long as it takes to stop privatisation of our services.
./ends
For comment, contact 083 7141899
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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