Local government needs to realise that it cannot handle electricity supply on its own, Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin said on Friday.
”Honestly, I have a lot more confidence in Eskom than in all of the municipalities put together,” Erwin said at a briefing of Business Unity South Africa in Johannesburg.
”Local government is useless. It’s a fact! A metro can handle electricity supply but small municipalities can’t.
”Eskom has experience. They came up with a good plan and said they would help the metros, even with their accounts.”
He said R97-billion will be invested in Eskom to deal with energy problems, adding that although it is a big sum of money, it is urgently needed.
”Its a lot of money, but we have to invest because the worst mistake we can make is not to have energy. If you think this is just talk, let me remind you that we hit the largest consumption of electricity on June 23 and it can go higher.”
Erwin warned that if electricity consumption soars, South Africa will have to resort to other mechanisms such as buying back electricity from neighbouring countries.
The total investment by the state into infrastructure and state-owned enterprises is about R340-billion.
Erwin said the money will be used to upgrade and develop Eskom, Transnet and other companies, including small enterprises, women-orientated enterprises and black economic empowerment (BEE) initiatives.
”But, at the same time, BEE development programmes and the empowerment of women cannot delay the roll-out of energy or the development of the transport sector.”
He said many businesses in the country face problems in the managerial and financial sectors.
The state will assist businesses to train employees so that they are better equipped to deal with challenges. He added that there are new markets and financial systems in South Africa that businesses needed to familiarise themselves with.
”The financial sector can’t do what they have been doing all their life if they want to succeed.
”Very new industries are emerging and we’ve got to be competitive on an international scale.”
Erwin said managers should let ”the finance guys” worry about whether the rand was at R7 or R6,50 to the dollar.
Managers should concentrate on expanding the company and making it internationally competitive, he added.
Problems must be overcome and business must be positive, clear and confident.
”We took one massive problem out of the way as a country, so we can do the same now,” said Erwin.
He also assured the public that government is addressing the skills shortage.
Many companies are identifying workers with sufficient levels of skill and upgrading them.
Other companies, including Transnet and Eskom, go to schools to encourage matric pupils to study further. The companies also offer assistance to those pupils interested in studying in a field required by the company.
”We have also talked to international and African expatriates who are willing to come back to South Africa. So we think that the skills shortage will be dealt with.”
He also urged South Africans to stop worrying about Chinese textile imports. China is the biggest market, it is a big opportunity and not a threat.
”If we spent time getting America, we got to spend ten times more time getting China because it’s the biggest market in the world,” said Erwin.
He said the world economy is exploding, especially in countries like Brazil, India and China, and South Africa needs to plan more carefully and work with the private sector to catch up with these fast-growing economies. — Sapa