'We feel exonerated,' says Parliament in response to army presence at Eskom

Sahlulele Luzipo, chairwoman of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, has welcomed the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) at four Eskom power facilities.

Late on Saturday, News24 reported that at least ten troops will be stationed at each of the following power stations: Majuba, Camden, Grootvlei, and Tutuka.

According to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, the action was made “in response to the growing threat of sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption” at coal and diesel power facilities.

According to Luzipo, this comes “hot on the heels” of a successful operation by multi-disciplinary law enforcement authorities on an illegal coal yard in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on Thursday.

According to eNCA, the raid resulted in the arrest of more than 16 persons and the seizure of vehicles and papers.

Luzipo said, “The committee has always held a firm view that the country’s electricity crisis is caused by Eskom’s inability to deal with maintenance of ageing power stations and internal sabotage as opposed to a policy failure. We now feel exonerated.” 

He added that talks about stabilising the country’s electricity should be about “coming up with technological mechanisms” to detect early signs of criminality and sabotage, “considering that the deployment of the army alone is not a sustainable solution”.