GORDHAN INTERVENES
Pravin Gordhan warns SA's economy cannot afford load shedding
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan intervened in Eskom’s wage dispute because he believes prolonged load shedding will have a huge negative effect on the already sluggish economy. Eskom began disrupting electricity supply on Thursday, and Gordhan met members of its board and representatives of three trade unions on Friday. He visited Eskom operations on Saturday. Wage talks broke down last week between the state-owned utility and trade unions. Eskom blamed workers’ protest action and sabotage for the load shedding, which is affecting the country for hours at a time. Gordhan said in an interview on Sunday that he wanted to avoid a "massive load shedding crisis which would impact negatively on the economy, as we have seen before. "This was an intervention. In the current environment where there is so much clearing up to do, I think one should not be too constrained about interacting with boards and management in a proactive way if the situation demands it — provided that you a...
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