Former Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga delayed massive electricity tariff hikes until after the April 2009 elections at the behest of the ANC, Eskom staff have alleged in a letter to the Mail & Guardian.
”We call upon Mr Maroga not to blackmail this country by citing his act of delaying the price application to after the elections as a favour owed to him,” said the letter, sent anonymously on November 9 but confirmed as authentic by Eskom sources.
The letter, an earlier version of which was sent to Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan, called on Maroga to leave quietly after he was ousted by the utility’s board in a highly publicised battle.
Interim Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana referred all questions to Maroga, who refused to comment on the allegation this week. ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu was approached for comment but did not respond.
Eskom’s last three-year price regime ended on March 31 this year, according to documents of the national energy regulator, Nersa.
Eskom should have submitted its application for the next three years for approval by April 1 — a few weeks before the elections, which were seen at the time as the biggest test for the ANC since 1994.
In fact, the utility’s interim 31,3% increase was approved in June and implemented in July, while it applied for a three-year 45% annual price hike on September 30. It has since moderated the demand to 35%.
Senior Eskom sources said Maroga deliberately delayed Eskom’s application for a multi-year price determination for 2009 to 2012, as the hikes would have been published before the national elections, unsettling ANC voters.
The sources said he dismissed recommendations by his technical team that he press ahead with the application as early as September 2008. He also refused Nersa’s offer of an interim price increase from April 1.
Instead, he allegedly told senior staff that he had struck a deal with the ANC whereby Eskom would receive R27-billion from government, have road works paid for and be exempted from environmental levies in the next tariff increase. None of this happened after the elections.
Even after the elections, according to several sources in the organisation, Maroga failed to submit the application, instead involving staff in prolonged discussions with consultants and delaying decisions.
In the three months between the end of the last price determination and the interim increase, the utility is estimated to have lost R4-billion.
When the leadership crisis erupted in early November, staff feared that Maroga would use his political connections to stave off his dismissal.
”We appeal to you to let us be — any attempts to reinstate yourself will result in further damage to an organisation reeling from lack of direction, over-talking on issues and mostly a failure to act and trying to bend Eskom to your will to ensure your personal mark is cast on it,” wrote the staff.