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The two civil society organisations wishing to take legal action against President Cyril Ramaphosa, as reported by Denene Erasmus and Hajra Omarjee, are on the right side of the debate but are sadly quite naïve to think that legal action will work (“Legal action taken against Ramaphosa over inaction on energy law”, January 17).
Ramaphosa, for all his faults, is not withholding electricity from the country. He can’t address the crisis with the push of a button, so no amount of legal action will make a difference. Even if he were solely responsible and able to rectify the situation, the courts wouldn’t be able to make him do so.
We are not a sophisticated country where the president can be held accountable by petty courts. The legal rigmarole with Jacob Zuma, who is not even an incumbent president, shows that this is not a country of laws. It’s a country of political clout and gangsterism.
Eskom suffers from fundamental problems that go far beyond a few people not doing their job. Its existence as a state-owned monopoly guarantees there is no true incentive to be competent. There is no accountability for failure. And the dire state of this country as a whole means even much-needed radical solutions (such as private sector power producers) will be endangered by ideological fanatics and gangsters who profit from load-shedding.
Those funding the legal action should save those resources to go off the grid, fund opposition parties or take the money overseas. Eskom won’t be saved by lawsuits. It will be saved by political will and SA being taken to the brink of collapse.
Nicholas Woode-Smith Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Eskom will not be saved by lawsuits
The two civil society organisations wishing to take legal action against President Cyril Ramaphosa, as reported by Denene Erasmus and Hajra Omarjee, are on the right side of the debate but are sadly quite naïve to think that legal action will work (“Legal action taken against Ramaphosa over inaction on energy law”, January 17).
Ramaphosa, for all his faults, is not withholding electricity from the country. He can’t address the crisis with the push of a button, so no amount of legal action will make a difference. Even if he were solely responsible and able to rectify the situation, the courts wouldn’t be able to make him do so.
We are not a sophisticated country where the president can be held accountable by petty courts. The legal rigmarole with Jacob Zuma, who is not even an incumbent president, shows that this is not a country of laws. It’s a country of political clout and gangsterism.
Zuma to appeal order exempting Ramaphosa from private prosecution
Eskom suffers from fundamental problems that go far beyond a few people not doing their job. Its existence as a state-owned monopoly guarantees there is no true incentive to be competent. There is no accountability for failure. And the dire state of this country as a whole means even much-needed radical solutions (such as private sector power producers) will be endangered by ideological fanatics and gangsters who profit from load-shedding.
Those funding the legal action should save those resources to go off the grid, fund opposition parties or take the money overseas. Eskom won’t be saved by lawsuits. It will be saved by political will and SA being taken to the brink of collapse.
Nicholas Woode-Smith
Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
READ MORE:
EDITORIAL: Eskom hike stokes fires of revolt
Ramaphosa: Eskom must be cautious in implementing tariff increases
EDITORIAL: Will Ramaphosa seize the chance to fix Eskom after shunning Davos?
GRACELIN BASKARAN: Keep Eskom off the balance sheet and the budget
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Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.