Boardroom Talk – Energy turnaround specialist KW Miller on Eskom: both rational and mind-blowing

We finally managed to co-ordinate diaries for that promised interview with energy turnaround specialist KW Miller. It was worth the wait. He was full value – joining the dots in the Eskom mess in a way that makes a lot of sense. He describes Eskom as comfortably the worst he has come across in three decades of examining and fixing similar disasters.

I approached the interview determined to tackle the man who reckons because of the plundering at Eskom, and the impact on the economy as a whole, South Africa is itself on the verge of bankruptcy. As one would. But as he laid out his case, it became ever harder to challenge his assertions.

Eskom has been plundered to the point of near extinction. Check. It is still being bled dry by third parties injected on grounds of "BEE", and by criminal syndicates. Check. Its debt is not self-standing because most of it is guaranteed by the SA government. Check. The lion's share of that debt was raised by Eskom selling bonds into global markets – and the international investors who own it, want action. Check.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___