Eskom: how corruption and crime turned the lights off in South Africa | FinancialTimes

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BB

First of all we h ave to accept that th e ANC has reached the Mugabe elvel of corrupion and that si rapidly losing support - being down to 42% in support as found in very reliable opinion polls.   

Eskom and other state-owned  enterprises is an example of that.   Take for istance the Forestry Comapny that took over the Department of Forestry after 1995,   That company cannot now even submit financial statements audited by the Auidt general's office - - it is totally corrupt as well.     

Forestry used to be operated as a business entertprize within the S A Public Service and received praise from the Government.   Key staff members exerienced in that operation wsa distributed to other Government Departments to help such departments - I happened to be one of those and went to the Water Affairs Department where corruption and maladministration was a problem - for the last year in that Department I was used to investifgate corruption in that Department,   The difference was corruption was not invovling the Departmental management - it was on lower levels.

What is the case in SA is embodied in Eskom.   It started under Zuma when he had the White engineers and senior staff  fired and relaced by political cronies.   The staff complement of Eskom went up from 23 000 employees to 46 000 and the management started to loot Eskom - while maintenance was never undertaken.

By the way it was helped along by Bains to whom R1,6 billion ws paid for a dud report - part of which money wss corruptly  funneled to the company .called Trillians - a totally corrupt entity.   That amongst others let to the Zondo Commission and he identified the problems caused under Zuma - but could get nothing done in rooting out Eskom corruption.  Too many issues was linked to Ramaphosa whose involvement in corrupt actuivities is also becoming cleaarer.

In respect of Eskom the local Municipality decided they have had enough of the BS of Eskom and is now sppending R350 million on their own sun electricity provision installation comprising 40 hectares of sun panels providing 12 MW electricity.   A major part of the funding is provided by the DA controlled Weastern Cape Provincial Government.   The local Municipal authority  are regarded as one of the best-adminsitered local authorities n SA anyway.

 SA under the ANC has economically gone backwarxds a 100 years and I can see nothing more than further decline under the present regime.    

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ANC filth se gat! SIES!!! Gemors!!!

I so wished the Boks would have stood together and not one of them acknowledged Gangster Ramaphosa at the World Cup Final. But I guess keeping up appearances is more important than standing for something.

Agree with you on the problems that face most African countries but RSA is unique in one aspect.

What is taking place in government run or controled departments is no different to what was happeneing in RSA in the years 1948 - 1992.

During that period the government infested every avenue with their supporters, families and ensured control of most if not all purse strings associated with stated run or controlled enterprises.

Corruption, theft and many illegal and criminal acts never ever made the headlines as they had total control of everything the state was envolved in including justice.

After 1992 when the ANC was elected all they did was they continued with the system in place but being amatures at the start of the power and financial control they had been gifted they badly handle the situation and the wealth and greed overtook all.

Now most if not all is bust in the country but a few at the top are still filling their pockets and their is no turning back.

The Nats did at least build up the country and many connected to them made fortunes while keeping the economy growing and opportunities for some but once they lost control everything went to hell in the african basket for the country.

Just following the typical african system of corrupt government and no different to the rest of the African continent unfortunately.

Sad but true.

Agreed AJ...the new lot is continuing where the old lot stopped in 94....problem is, the new lot is 12 times more than the old lot.

Totally agree with you DbD.

It's far too easy to blame leaders.

Disagree, Plum. It starts with them, the example they set, the actions they take or don't take. Ramaphosa was second in command during the state capture debacle. He was part and parcel of it. He had a huge hand in the Marikana massacre. He's a useless, corrupt piece of shit, no better than Zuma.

Virtually all municipalities outside the Western Cape is corrupt. No one ever goes to jail. They caught one of our former mayors with millions in stolen cash. Nothing happened, dude's still out there living it up. Hawks charge in, Hawks charge out. Nada. The corruption continues. Why wouldn't everybody take what they can get? Syndicates rule just about everything now - you know from your construction experiences.

You can't leave humans to their own devices. We need laws, rules, boundaries. We need them applied to the poor, to the rich, to the politician, to the bum. We need punishment dealt consistently to keep law and order. If not, most people just default to the path of least resistance, discipline goes out the window along with conscience and morals. That's the cold truth.

There was one difference befcore 1995 and that was that the looters were more discreet and more difficult to catch out.    If fo instance a dam is being built that would covr large afeas, the lnad was bought by a partner of the big shots and sold at a much higher price to the Government - with th e loot being shared by the partners.   

Remember there was a guy by the name of Agliotti who did the diurty iro of  property needed near the  Airport.   But it ran in the family and a nephew was invovled with Selebi fraud when he was head of the police.   Thre were three other NP Ministers who ended up in jail.

In S A none of the A NC Ministers did jai time for corruption  and for me that told the whole story.   A s plum saqid there were corruption often on lower level.    The normal was to order for instance meat to serve to dam construction workers and then half of the meet was delivered and the rest of the money shared between he seller and the low levels taff members.   

Where io differ from you is that ythe corruption under the previous Government did niot have a major effect on the economy of the country as a whole - it was ever-present - but not suicidal on national economic level like it is at pesent.   

I have always maintained that Govrnment is a beding vground for corruption.   In countries like India at one stage the Government laid down maximum levels for what officials can cxharge eople for corruption in respect of service delivery.  If a public servant exceeed that limit he could end up in jail,  

But then we had the Guptas in SA and their friend Zuma - nobody would go to jail because of what they did.

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...and it's worse in SA than even Zim and Mozambique...welfare states makes for the worst populations.

Plum

The question remains - does corruption is a bottom-up product or the other way around.   Maybe it is both.   The top cadres sets the exampl and their underli.ngs claim thye are doing what their bosses higher up is doing setting an example for them to follow.

Take fpr example what a murderer claimed after he murdered a Councillor.   He said that the murdered Cunxillor had his time to eat, and now it is his time to eat.  That seems to be the attitude of the lower class  in society.   

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