APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has called for swift action against an unnamed senior official at state-owned power utility Eskom suspected of sabotaging power stations in the country.
According to press reports, the net is closing in on the senior Eskom official who is accused of working with auditors and engineers to ensure breakdowns occur at various power stations of the state-owned power utility nationwide.
“We are calling for the speedy processing of that issue so that those implicated can be arrested,” SAFTU national spokesperson Trevor Shaku said.
Shaku said he did not think there was just one person involved because of the many reports of these acts of sabotage in the past.
“It means there are probably big in numbers or a couple of working teams that are operating to sabotage the operations of Eskom — and benefitting from it,” the spokesperson said.
South Africa has faced rolling blackouts over the past few years, a situation that has worsened since late 2022 with some areas going for up to 12 hours without electricity.
A contractor working at Camden power station in Mpumalanga province was arrested late last year after being linked to an incident of sabotage at the plant.
The contractor admitted to intentionally removing an oil drain plug in the facility, causing oil burners to trip repeatedly.
Following that arrest, former Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter spoke about wide-ranging acts of sabotage at various power stations led by syndicates in the country.
Others have, however, place South Africa’s crippling power cuts to lack of maintenance of the country’s ageing power stations as well as corruption that has seen resources meant for repairs diverted by top Eskom and government officials.
NM/jn/APA