Firstly, this creates the appearance of government doing something. This is important for politicians. They need to be able to say I/we have taken the following steps with immediate effect… Now we relax because he just said he’s doing something.
Secondly, all they have to do is what they do know how to do. Secure perimeters & control access. They’re not there to repair equipment.
I don’t the the enemy is on the outside… Inside not so much…
OK… I don’t KNOW, but it seems to me to be fairly clear that the army are not being sent in to do maintenance.
Eskom seems to have started keeping shtum again, but for a while they were very communicative and quite a lot of information was released. It seems clear to me that there is not a single front on which Eskom must fight. They have many parties seeking to exploit them.
One of the reports that emerged was a guy delivering diesel. He went in the usual entrance and his tanker was weighed. He would then exit at the same point, as per procedure, and his tanker was weighed again. The difference in weight determined how much he was paid for the delivery.
But he wasn’t driving in, filling up the tank at the station and then driving out again. There was a hole in the fence, though which he drove. He would then fill tanks on a neighbouring farm. Then he’d reverse his journey. So Eskom paid for diesel they never received, the tanks on the farm got filled for free (to the farm), and I’m sure the driver was getting a nice little cut of the action.
So a bit of keeping an eye on perimeters would have paid off there.
It is clear that Eskom is under siege, but it’s not a single, unified, coordinated siege. The plunderers are many. Some are people that Eskom thought they could trust. Some are on the inside, but a lot are on the outside. EG a contractor who was called in to do a repair, did the repair, but also drilled a hole in a bearing casing knowing that the bearing would run dry and he’d be called back to do another repair.
That’s much harder for the military to detect, though Eskom picked it up after increasing their own security measures. My point is that Eskom is under attack on many fronts and it’s not one, coordinated campaign.
The initial announcement, that you quoted, actually explains quite a lot. See
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bloomberg/news/2022-12-17-army-guards-four-eskom-power-stations/
There is theft and vandalism going on at the stations at which the military were first deployed. Now this seems much more the sort of thing that the army are going to be good at dealing with, whilst Eskom staff can get on with whatever their actual job is.
The Western Cape government is working on making provincial land available to help he private sector generate more electricity.
I think this is going to be very interesting … cause they will make it work.
I don’t think this will have any real impact … too little, too late, with empty coffers.
So many questions. How did the would-be assassin gain access sufficient to poison what I assume was a single cup of espresso? One would expect this to be a rather small group of people.
The reigning opinion on social media appears to be “he uncovered something and they are afraid he’ll talk”. I don’t think that is it. I think it is much simpler. He’s choking off the money supplies of the criminal syndicates, and the Mafia boss(es) decided he needed to be removed. The timing is interesting too. Apparently it happened around the same time as his resignation… but again… things like these takes time to plan. There is probably no cause and effect here related to the resignation.
I agree, but they can be called off with a phone call.
(I think his resignation was common knowledge already by the time of the alleged poisoning).
It is now Attempted Murder. Do find the “lowkey reporting”, the “anger at what happened”, as shockingly “silent”.
Was a case of him needing to be “removed/silenced”, resignation or not, as he was still going to be around for a few months more till his contract ended, reigns handed over.
Security detail, so much for the “trusted” people around him, in his coffee. Damn.
Must say, the brazenness of it all, the absolute “we will do as we please” (fill in anything you want), what chances does the next person have to succeed in De Ruyter’s position?
None.
Maybe, the low-key reporting on this could be a move as in “look, no one is talking, we got away with it”, whilst the powers that be, not ANC, is taking it to task.
Will see if in the future big front page news that the culprits have been arrested … I’m positive, have to be.
Actually, I have my facts wrong.
The alleged poisoning happened on the 13th. He resigned on the 12th to the board, but it only became public knowledge on the 14th.
The death threats, quick Google, as I recall De Ruyter talking about it before …
Jun 2021
Dec 2022
De Ruyter was thrown under the bus… and “The Fat Lady” is getting ready to sing when SA starts up this year with the ANC having no one left to 1) fire or 2) blame.
I’m looking forward to this year’s antics from Gordhan and Mantashe as my prediction for 2023:
Heads are going to start rolling in, on, and around Eskom when we hit LS level 4+ in Jan/Feb.
I have a different take on this, no heads to roll, only the bankroll to improve for all involved since the obstacle is now effectively removed. Also look at the EAF, this year will be brutal…
Groetnis
Effectively the EAF dropped by 10% during 2022…
Groetnis
Maybe … or:
With Oberholzer and De Ruyter speaking up about what is really potting for a year or more, the actions and attempting actions that were taken blowing the lid off on some things, the non-action from the Gov, the BS stopping in that we got more and more LS days, De Ruyter’s death threats, epic instant resigning with Mantashe Gordhan just watching, then the attempted murder surfaces …
We are way WAY past just “obstacle is now effectively removed”.
Or do I have it all wrong?
We are still blissfully sitting in and enjoying the slow “bringing to a boil” pot of water.
EDIT: The ANC is at its weakest ever … all it takes is for big business to get “balls” and say “f…k” the ANC
I know its early days yet, but we had LS every day, bar one, this year.
Groetnis
I know nothing, it’s just my opinion, and speculation based on past performance predicting future performance and behaviour. The CancER knows, they do, as they facilitate this. It’s just the public. Them talking about it is what caused the threats and action most likely. There is no political will to action anything, it’s disregarded, simple as that. There is to much bias.
Remember, culture will eat strategy every day, and the Eskom culture is toxic and just focused on enriching all those involved from the taxpayers monies. And the love the monies even thou they hate them taxpayers and considers those monies as reparations…
Groetnis
That makes sense. There’s also the nice little bonus Chilling Effect – showing everyone else what happens when you mess with the money taps, including whomever is the next CEO. This is also why I think the previous Head of Generation resigned. Why would he stay in a terrible job that’s bringing up more and more life-threatening issues?
What @mariusm and @Sarel.Wagner are saying, is the current status quo. I agree.
Adding on top of that, the blatant intimidation, the attempted murder now, on top of De Ruyter’s open talks.
I believe, and hope, that the big players are deducing that their big legal profits are at risk.
Big Business and SARS.
If big business profits do indeed further reduce, inevitable tax collection will be affected.
We know the ANC is at its weakest … they are not only losing control of the voters/unions they are also losing donations them being bankrupt as a political party. They also have less and less control over the NPA and courts with fewer and fewer legal entities wanting to do business with Gov for various reasons.
That is why I’m alluding to … something has to give ito “free-to-do-as-we-please-criminal-networks”.
Big Business SA needs to make the next move.
Unless Big Business sees profits in a failed SA …
That’s Chris Yelland’s take as well. While it takes a phone call to call off a hit, there may have been reasons to allow it to proceed, one of which would be as a warning to the next guy.
Since I’m not the killing kind, I also don’t know how hard (or not) it is to kill someone with cyanide. I could probably google that. The question is whether his survival was “accidental”, or planned. I mean, it makes no difference to the criminal charge. By Dolus Eventualis, the reasonable man will foresee that if I feed someone cyanide, they may die. Therefore, whoever is convicted, assuming someone is convicted, goes down for attempted murder regardless of what the intent was.
Further to this: I seem to remember a time in the distant past where we had a specialised investigating branch known as “The Scorpions”. Maybe I am wrong, but somehow I think they would have been all over this. Where are the hawks? Or are things just being kept quiet?
What happened here is fairly serious. I don’t quite understand how everyone is so relaxed about it…
That dear Sir, is the logical view by a reasonable man…
Groetnis
In this case, our old discussion matters little. This is the legal standard. There is way too much precedent in law to skirt this one. Even our boy Jacob Humphreys (the diepsloot Taxi guy who went in front of a train) barely escaped multiple murder charges through a technicality (he was not suicidal, he was in the same vehicle, therefore he did not foresee it). Also see “State vs Mshumpa” where the hitman got smacked with an attempted murder charge (of his client and his girlfriend).
