Any delays in rolling out Eskom's expansion plans could seriously dent the government's credibility, the head of the country's biggest business group has warned.
Neren Rau, head of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he was worried by reports that the country's political changes might hamper Eskom's progress.
"I think if the government intervenes in Eskom's ability to provide sustainable energy, it's going to be hugely to the detriment of business, in particular small, medium and macro enterprises (SMMEs)," Rau said.
He spoke after reports that new public enterprises minister Brigitte Mabandla might review Eskom's R343-billion programme to beef up electricity supplies.
Continues Below ↓
Struggle
The programme has been dogged by concern that Eskom could struggle to raise the capital given the state of the global economy. The resignation of the utility's finance director has been linked to his failure to attract investment to keep the programme going.
News that Eskom would delay rewarding a tender for phase one of its nuclear roll-out has heightened concerns that the political shake-up will affect government operations.
The tender was due to be awarded this month, but Eskom said last week it may now only be done by the end of the year.
Rau was also cautiously optimistic that Mabandla - who has been criticised for being weak in her previous justice portfolio - may do better in her current role. "In my view, those ministers are as powerful as their predecessors or successors," Rau said.
"The parastatals have to deal with them as their current bosses."
He cautioned, however, that the new government could not afford a further crisis like the one earlier this year when power shortages caused widespread blackouts and forced the nation's biggest mines to shut down for several days.
Eskom and the Public Enterprises Department later faced severe criticism for not doing enough to prevent the crisis, which triggered a sharp fall in economic growth later that year.
"This would be the worst possible time to have setbacks in power supply. Global (economic) factors are worse since the last disruption," Rau said.
"I think the impact on investor perception will be more negative than it was previously."
He added that investors may have overlooked the previous power crisis, but a repetition of that would make them question the government's ability to manage crises. - Daily News Correspondent
- This article was originally published on page 9 of Daily News on October 01, 2008
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
