SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - OCTOBER 27: ActionSA campaigns on October 27, 2021 in Soweto, South Africa. The 2021 South African municipal elections will be held on 1 November 2021 to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. (Photo by Papi Morake/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Global Citizen
Flash Briefing: ActionSA coalition talks; Eskom CEO de Ruyter refuses to ‘fall on his sword’; further Eskom woes
Coalition talks between parties continue, with the kingmaker in Gauteng – ActionSA – in active talks with the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
- Coalition talks between parties continue, with the kingmaker in Gauteng – ActionSA – in active talks with the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba left the DA in 2019, citing the election of Helen Zille as Federal Chair as the reason. His concern was reportedly that, under Zille, inequality and poverty would not be a priority. While Mashaba considers his past with the DA 'water under the bridge', he says that negotiations will put the poor front and centre. The party is also in talks with the EFF, though it says it has some reservations so far. ActionSA won't work with the ANC, and the DA refuses to work with the ANC or EFF.
- While it is no secret that Eskom's power grid is incredibly vulnerable and under strain, revelations from the group this week showed exactly how fine a line it is treading daily. So much so that a power trip in Zambia had a cascading effect on the local power supply, which ultimately led to stage 4 load shedding hitting this week. The imported power from Zambia is typically stable and gives Eskom room to breathe. However, for the relatively short period it was out, Eskom's hydro and gas solutions could barely cover the shortfall. Experts say Eskom has to be more conservative with its emergency solutions, while worries over diesel shortages persist.
- Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says he will not resign of his own accord because there's no use putting a new jockey on a dead horse. The CEO was responding to calls from unions and business groups that he fall on his sword over load shedding – where 2021 has been the worst year for blackouts on record. De Ruyter said he serves at the behest of the Eskom board, and if they want him gone, that is a decision they must make. However, he said that it's more important to have continuity in management, as the many executive changes in the last decade have only contributed to the company's instability.