NUM highveld region greatly worried about the continued roll-out of stage 6 load-shedding by ESKOM

Media Statement, 17 January 2023

NUM Highveld region greatly worried about the continued roll-out of stage 6 load-shedding by ESKOM

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Highveld Region is greatly concerned and worried about the continued roll-out of stage 6 load-shedding by the power utility, Eskom.

The NUM Highveld Region is situated in Mpumalanga where the are majority of Eskom power stations and the ongoing roll-out of load-shedding is unsustainable for the economies of most local communities, of which that might result in the increase of unemployment and poverty.

The NUM feels that we could have avoided much of this debilitating load-shedding if government had moved with greater speed to implement the commitments of the Eskom Social Compact. As the NUM we are concerned that there seems not to be a willingness to resolve the load-shedding that is engulfing the entire country.

The NUM is organizing at Eskom and upon engaging our members on the ground about the causes of such national crisis, the response would be that load-shedding will continue to be unavoidable because of the power stations such as Kendal, Matla and Tutuka that are not operating in full capacity.

"The challenges to these power stations is known, it is in fact disturbing that the General Manager of Tutuka power station in particular is a failure and yet he is still occupying the position. This man since he arrived at Tutuka, the power station is under performing, his focus is on body guards that are always surrounding him and omnipresent as if he is acting a movie but suffering from a colossal failure to turn around the power station, said NUM Highveld Deputy Regional Secretary Thapelo Malekutu.

The NUM is calling for an immediate removal of Eskom's Tutuka power station General Manager as he continues to place the country under unnecessary stress and strain.

The NUM is equally not happy with the performance of General Managers of Matla, Kendal and Kusile power stations. Kusile power station has been running with one unit ever since.

Also, the issue of replacement, breakdown and maintenance spares has been a permanent problem and it must be attended to with agility. South Africa could not be be subjected to a permanent roll-out of load-shedding moving it from one stage to another.

The NUM is calling for the State President Cyril Ramaphosa to consider engaging with us. The President must stop listening or considering reports from Minister Pravin Gordan.

Minister Gordan has reached the ceiling in terms of thinking. He is confused and knows nothing. He misled the President on a number of occasions and brought the so called retired engineers into the system. Eskom does not need old engineers but it requires young and energetic engineers.

When a person is old he or she turned to forget easily and practically they even turned to confuse the names of their own grandchildren. How can such an old and retired engineer remember the plant components?

The NUM has a strategy on how we can overcome some of the Eskom's challenges.

For more detailed information, please contact:

Thapelo Malekutu, NUM Highveld Deputy Regional Secretary 0636019005

The National Union of Mineworkers

7 Rissik Street.

Cnr Frederick Johannesburg

Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257

Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167

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