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Cosatu says unbundling Eskom will lead to higher electricity prices.
- Cosatu says it is disappointed that Ramaphosa broke his promise to stop 18% tariff hike.
- The federation is also concerned that unbundling Eskom will lead to higher electricity prices.
- Cosatu welcomes the reversal of the exemption of Eskom from public finance rules.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Trade union federation Cosatu said on Wednesday that it was disappointing that President Cyril Ramaphosa had not honoured his commitment to organised labour to reverse Eskom's 18% tariff increase, which came into effect on 1 April.
Ramaphosa made the commitment in a meeting with the labour caucus of Nedlac in January. He also told various meetings of the ANC that he had asked Eskom to consider halting the price hike.
Said a statement from Cosatu:
This is deeply disappointing because this increase remains a blow to workers and businesses struggling to survive in an economy still reeling from Covid-19 lockdowns and rampant inflation. We call on the President to honour this important commitment that he made to workers.
At the time, Eskom said that it had not been asked by Ramaphosa to forgo the increase, which it had no authority to do. Only the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has the authority to preside on Eskom's tariff increase, which, once announced, could only be undone by a court order.
READ | Ramaphosa asks Eskom to halt 18.65% power tariff hike
In the statement, Cosatu also raised concerns about the ongoing unbundling of Eskom, which it described as "an unnecessary, concealed, and unjustifiable exercise". The consequence of unbundling would benefit the private sector and increase prices for the working class. It would also not solve Eskom's problems, said the federation.
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"The crises crippling Eskom are endemic corruption, systemic mismanagement, galloping wasteful and fruitless expenditure, and structural shifts in energy generation. Unbundling will not resolve these ills that are eating at the heart of Eskom. Unbundling is tantamount to moving the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic," it said.
Earlier in the day Cosatu welcomed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's decision to withdraw the "ill-conceived" exemption granted to Eskom from sections of the Public Finance Management Act.
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