Cosatu says open to some SOE privatisation but not Eskom

[Binary_Bark]

When it comes to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), labour federation Cosatu is no longer opposed to the idea of private investment provided the asset is “non-strategic” and the government maintains its majority stake. The union is playing down the significance of this suggestion, which analysts say is nothing short of revolutionary.

“Any suggestion by Cosatu that they are looking at some privatisation is a major change and it suggests that the cracks are widening in the labour movement amid a realisation that we can’t keep pouring money into SOEs,” Gary van Staden, a political analyst at NKC African Economics, told Business Maverick.

Cosatu’s embrace of limited privatisation was raised in the City Press newspaper on Sunday, where the federation’s spokesman Sizwe Pamla was quoted as saying it would pursue this issue with its alliance partners, the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP), at a political council meeting on Sunday 1 December.

BUSINESS MAVERICK: Cosatu says open to some SOE privatisation but not Eskom

Cosatu's spokesman Sizwe Pamla says it is not a change in policy, but the union is now on the record embracing limited privatisation of SOEs that are not strategic. This is actually a significant departure which may give President Cyril Ramaphosa vital political cover for the urgent task of...

www.dailymaverick.co.za

 

[lucifir]

if cosatu/unions opposes privatisation, then I suggest guv pulls the other string and say that they will use government employees pensions to fund the failing SOEs. I am sure the union members will quickly force their unions to change their tune
They all happy wasting other peoples money, but once you put their money on the line, then some semblance of reason should set in.

 

[3WA]

Don't privatise Eskom. Just stop bailing it out, let it go broke, and let private companies compete with it.

 

[Deadmanza]

No one cares what you are open to you irrelevant cunts.
You are nothing more than a group of corrupt thugs, STFU and climb back into your hole.

 

[Kosmik]

Don't give a shi* about your opinion, help fix the problem or get out the way.

 

[yebocan]

so we have gone from no privatisation ...to being open to ... so basically, you are for privatisation ... all the other noise, is to show your members you are no push overs/selling them down the river/saving face ...btw. nice little "but not Eskom" ... wonder how long it will take, before that line in the sand gets redrawn.

 

[Slootvreter]

A union for unions. LOL

 

[Milano]

Eskom is strategic. But South African Airways is more middle class and we keep bailing it out with taxpayer money. We cannot have blanket disapproval of privatisation.

not all are strategic ,others may require the involvement of the private sector (in a limited form) based on the need for capital, new technology, enhanced delivery, etc

So he actually admits that even partial privatisation is superior as it brings enhanced delivery in the form of superior service delivery, better technology and superior funding.

SAA serves the 'middle class' therefore does not matter to him so he is fine with a better run semi-privatised airline.

Yet Eskom is 'strategic' so by his logic it does not require enhanced delivery, better technology or private capital. In the case of Eskom which serves almost every poor person in SA he chooses to keep it state-owned so that it can continue to be paid for thrice, firstly in overpriced tariffs, again in bailouts, and then again in wider economic losses.

So 'strategic' is not about building the economy, saving jobs or lowering electricity tariffs as Eskom currently does the opposite in all those instances. It is about control. The primary driving force is not logic or better lives but blatantly 'strategic' aimed at maintaining political power and political control over the people. Once again democracy is shown not to be government by the people for the people.

These unions should be mandated to register as political parties as their strategic objectives are undemocratic as they essentially control the political movements of government. They were not elected to govern the country yet they display unparalleled political power. This is not a democracy.

 

[Acid0]

Nobody will pump the SOE full of bailout cash and not have a say.... and since when do you have the final say what we can and cannot do...

 

[Acid0]

Well to be honest he is right that we should not privatize eskom.

Because the new owners will insist Soweto to pay else no lights....

 

[Hemi300c]

Who in their right minds would buy a 25% stake in anything with the anc guvmint owning 75%

 

[Jopie Fourie]

This will not happen. No person or company or investor anywhere in the world will invest in any State Owned Enterprise in South Africa. Let alone investing as a minority shareholder. The ANC and their cadres will still learn the lesson on investing and growing money. Unfortunately for them, they will not find any investor from the West willing to lose his, her or their money. So, the eventuality of it all is that all SOE's will eventually go belly-up and leave millions more people unemployed and the economy in shambles. This can no longer be stopped.

The only way they could have turned things around 10 years ago was to privatize all these entities 100% and exclude them all from labour laws, labour unions, AA and BEE. They did not take this opportunity and now it is too late.

 

[ArtyLoop]

Why not Eskom? Oh wait... fingers in that pie... them undeclared "salaries" too nice to give up.

 

[thestaggy]

The gal of this lot to say what can and cannot be done. They seriously need their legs chopped out from underneath them.

They are one of the biggest obstacles in addressing SA's economic and unemployment woes.