Eskom announces the arrest of a truck driver who allegedly sold coal destined for Arnot Power Station

[mylesillidge]

Eskom nails coal thief

Eskom has announced the arrest of a coal truck driver for selling a load of coal destined for Arnot Power Station to an illegal coal yard.

The power utility said the truck was spotted entering a coal yard in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, where it spent about an hour before joining the truck queue to offload at Arnot.

 

[Lupus]

If only there was an efficient way to get massive amounts of coal to a power station, like on rails or something.

 

[thestaggy]

If only there was an efficient way to get massive amounts of coal to a power station, like on rails or something.

And then what happens to the cadres when all the trucking companies they are invested in lose the contracts to move coal? How are they supposed to survive in this economy?

 

[kolaval]

Good news but one has to wonder, why this is an issue at all.
It's simple to install a tracker on the trucks and monitor their real time location?

 

[R13...]

If only there was an efficient way to get massive amounts of coal to a power station, like on rails or something.

Yeah, the truck mafia are just going to standby and watch their heavily financed trucks go to waste?

 

[Lupus]

And then what happens to the cadres when all the trucking companies they are invested in lose the contracts to move coal? How are they supposed to survive in this economy?

True, I never thought of those poor starving millionaires/billionaires who have no real skills but looting.

 

[Lupus]

Yeah, the truck are just going to standby and watch their heavily financed trucks go to waste?

I mean they could sit and reflect on their life choices... Maybe ripping off the people they were supposed to serve isn't the way to go.

 

[DapperDanMan]

And then what happens to the cadres when all the trucking companies they are invested in lose the contracts to move coal? How are they supposed to survive in this economy?

We can burn their bodies for fuel and give R370 per month to their family members to stave off any risk of destitution.

It's more than fair.

 

[thestaggy]

Good news but one has to wonder, why this is an issue at all.
It's simple to install a tracker on the trucks and monitor their real time location?

Because the trucking companies themselves are likely a part of the problem. This isn't just a rogue driver. And then the rot higher up, with the people awarding trucking contracts to these companies likely also being in the know.

Endemic corruption. The entire system has been subverted.

 

[DapperDanMan]

Yeah, the truck are

It's trucker.

 

[object]

Daily Eskom Article ~ 11/06/25

 

[R13...]

It's trucker.

Missed the word "mafia"

 

[mypetcow]

How badly are these truckers paid to justify R6000 for risking losing your job and a definitive criminal record?

 

[R4ziel]

Missed the word "mafia"

And "massive" and also "Kissing goodbye". Likely a fake article it would seem

 

[Lupus]

How badly are these truckers paid to justify R6000 for risking losing your job and a definitive criminal record?

It's not even a question of how badly they are paid, it's a question of oh more money.

 

[DapperDanMan]

Missed the work "mafia"

Your keyboard needs some coffee this morning.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Because the trucking companies themselves are likely a part of the problem. This isn't just a rogue driver. And then the rot higher up, with the people awarding trucking contracts to these companies likely also being in the know.

Endemic corruption. The entire system has been subverted.

Not likely part of the problem, they are the problem.

These are companies that are created (in many ways) purely to truck coal to the power stations, and the owners skim a few loads off to the illegal yards to make extra cash.

 

[chrisc]

There is a tracking system for coal trucks that has been developed by Vodacom. Possibly this has not yet been fitted to all of them

Reminds me of the attitude of the Post Office Workers Union who went to court to stop the Post Office installing CCTV in the sorting room

It was said in court that "up to 5% of mail" can be misplaced (euphemism for stolen). For a depot used to handling 6m mail items a day, that is 300 000 items every single day.

And the court was told this was an acceptable loss

 

[Petec]

There is a tracking system for coal trucks that has been developed by Vodacom. Possibly this has not yet been fitted to all of them

Reminds me of the attitude of the Post Office Workers Union who went to court to stop the Post Office installing CCTV in the sorting room

It was said in court that "up to 5% of mail" can be misplaced (euphemism for stolen). For a depot used to handling 6m mail items a day, that is 300 000 items every single day.

And the court was told this was an acceptable loss

Same thing when they started putting CCTV's in, at the baggage handling areas at the airports. The unions went nuts.

 

[R13...]

There is a tracking system for coal trucks that has been developed by Vodacom. Possibly this has not yet been fitted to all of them

The truck is not Eskom's problem until after it has offloaded. That they are able to offload stones suggests ongoing collusion with personnel at Eskom. And even there they could automate the problem. There are intelligent systems that should be able to sample a load for coal or rocks.