Having worked in the electrical utility industry for most of my career I can say that managing powerplants and the grid is complex, but not difficult. It is a problem with known solutions that smart people have figured out over decades. There can be extreme events that temporarily cause problems, but persisent load shedding is only caused by corruption.
I was in Ukraine last winter and it's crazy to think that they managed to provide electricity more consistently than it seems South Africa can. Just think about that. A country at war, where electricity plants were intentionally targeted, managed to provide better service.
Same thing in India, at least the northern part of it when I was there. I grew up with power cuts and load shedding as a weekly occurrence. It was so common, we didn’t even wonder about it, just plan on Monday to be somewhere cool. Later on when I grew up I found out almost 47% of power in Punjab was being stolen.
I work indirectly for Western Power in Western Australia, heaps of South African electricians , systems managers and specialists that are ex ESKOM work here now, almost universally they say that ESKOM was a world leader until it was mismanaged and corrupted to death.
Our whole country is broken, railways, roads, electricity, water, sewage, South African airways, crime, post office, education etc, etc.. all broken due to corrupt ANC government...
ESCOM was only meant for %20 of the population, that were white, now the others are on the grid legally and illegally .that's one of the reasons for the shed offloading .but that part is deliberately omitted not by accident. But just to blame the ANC which is what this video is about. Its not really about ESCOM it's about the ANC
Back in the 90's, I had a friend whose brother was an Electrical engineer with a Masters Degree. He was part of the team that DESIGNED power stations. When the ANC officials entered ESKOM, and placed a moratorium on the building of new power stations, the guy sat around without much to do. a year later he emigrated with his doctor wife. And that is the story of Eskom. And South Africa in general. The ANC chased away some of the best skilled people in the world, who also had some of the best integrity in the world, and replaced it with thieves who didn't have the skill.
"Getting from my Govt"?? That thinking is a large part of the problem. We must stand for our 'individual rights' not depending on the Govt. The Govt is NEVER going to care about the people. The sooner people realize this the sooner they can rise.
@raymorris8447 nonsense - in SA there is state-wide mismanagement and endemic corruption. A single power producer for the entire country with no redundancy. All courtesy of the utterly inept governing party. In the US you may have a few states that are sub par but hardly nation wide and crippling the entire US
Even if they did it wouldnt help much. Going through their hardships everyday is far worse yet they still vote ANC - it's pure racism at its best. Their politicians talk about it every day and its ramped up 10 fold during elections. These days the majority are more focused on feelings and emotions than any logic whatsoever this applies to the first world too.
The colonizers opened their utility services to the open market under Margaret Thatcher and the UK is now collectively acknowledging how much of a failure that has been. Now they want to force us down this failed path. Ironically, these colonizers talk about criminal syndicates. These global neocolonizers are the biggest criminal syndicates out there. The very people they call corrupt are getting bribes from them... GTFOH
Next year we are voting them out, yes it will take years to fix the country but we will fix it without the ANC. They’ve had their time and they ruined it.
Why do you only have State owned electricity company ? Why you don't allow Private companies ? State owned company are prone to corruption, don't you know ? Well, Private companies also suffer corruption many times, but it only impacts the Share holder and not the all of country.
@@Charvak-Atheist Actually it was doing well before 2010, things were a mess after 2010 even though load shedding started in 2007 but the messing up of everything started roughly from 2010 or so. And we actually have private companies hence it is said 80% of SA is done by Eskom. But they all have a deal that after 20/30yrs I think they give the plants to Eskom. So you run it privately for two/three decades but then after that it falls under Eskom. I think this is to control the pricing, I really don’t know I’m speculating there. And I agree with you corruption is all over, but when it starts affecting the average person then it’s too much corruption. SASOL is also state owned and to my surprise it’s doing well, it generates 5% of the GDP.
@@Charvak-AtheistYou realize this is how most western nations work right? Literally 80% of Canada. BC HYDRO is STATE OWNED and we have the second cheapest power in north america. 7 cents usd per kwh lol. Most of europe operates the same way. Private power companies are horrible in many areas. As long as you have a stable democracy, low corruption, it’s better than private power. Privatizing state owned companies almost always ends badly. See british rail. See Texas where their shitty power grid due to cost cutting from companies killed hundreds of people.
anc in complete control...... not sure where this place is at but from what i read b4 and after mandela is night and day. get it....night and day. how are the farms doing?
Credit where it's due - FT Films' editors know how to encapsulate the whole video in one final sentence in the final moments. "South African voters are FURIOUS." Commenting as one, absolutely true.
@patriciajohnson1894 I'm voting #ohm #OrganicHumanityMovement - The ONLY party calling for the #LiberationofSouthAfrica and the #SystemChange of our Constitution which does NOT protect us but only supports Government. We need to have a government "For our People By our People" voting for #DirectElections. From the ground up to President. Each appointed on education, skill & merit. Each held personally accountable for the position they hold. We need Nuclear & Fusion Technology = cheapest, & proven most technologically advanced. Absolutely categorically NOT wind or solar - which is 1000% NOT sustainable 1000% not eco friendly.
@@patriciajohnson1894 I've never divulged for whom I vote - though will say it has never been for the ANC as they were already circling the drain by the time I was old enough to vote. I have voted in all elections since I became eligible in 2009. Sadly, I have only been able to vote tactically as there isn't a party I truly support. It will be harder next year with all the new parties and it not being a good idea to splinter away votes from the big opposition parties. I'm hoping an independent candidate with good bona fides arises iny area.
Being furious, isn't going to change anything. The philosophy of government ownership has to be confronted, until it is, why would the corruption stop, because you are angry with it.
In Serbia, the situation appears alarmingly alike. Government officials corruption stands as a paramount threat to both the economy and peace. In my view, corruption isn't solely tied to poverty; rather, it emerges among those less enlightened intellectually and spiritually. In Serbia, the affluent tend to engage in cronyism.
Very well said❤ Our society's place much emphasis on money and power being the marker for a person's value while ignoring the immutable fact that purity of spirit & upholding of integrity & truth in service to all is ultimately, the one true universal currency we are all judged upon. It truly boggles my mind how this is not general knowledge or part of our school curriculum. It could save us alot of heartache and sorrow.
But as your country is a European state .that same person who made this video would totally ignore it. Or the narrative would be totally different .no issues of corruption would come up. ...
"In my view, corruption isn't solely tied to poverty, rather, it emerges among those less enlightened intellectually and spiritually"..."Our societies place much emphasis on money and power being the marker for a person's value while ignoring the immutable fact that purity of spirit & upholding of integrity & truth in service to all is ultimately, the one true universal currency we are all judeged upon" 👏I think I found my tribesmen in this thread. And the beauty of that tribe is that one is Serbian, another South African, and another Kenyan. If we could have more people join this thought-tribe, the world will be a better place for all of us.
@@pearls1626 Some are clearly worse than others, I've lived in Germany for 8 years and NEVER dealt with load shedding, not even an hour in those 8 years.
If, like ANC leadership, you're too immature to admit your incompetence then this is what you get. EVERYTHING is going to crap because of this cultural failure 😢
As a Kenyan who lived in Johannesburg -Lyndhurst in 2007. The city was a first world country City. Many years later it has turned to be something that i never expected!. I believe South Africa will rise again!.
You left exactly when the political shift could be felt and fully came to fruition in 2009. Though Lyndhurst is still pretty much Lyndhurst. And the square mile of Alexandra (portrayed in the beginning) is a dump like it always was, though far worse and crowded, as large numbers of migrants continue to flock to it, without much improvement. SA political and economic strategist Frans Cronje put it well: _"In the ~400 year modern history, the territory that now makes up South Africa has only ever been governed reasonably well for its totality for a period of 15 years: 1994 - 2009."_
To rise again, asks for a better education system - to reap from it in manpower will take at least 25yrs. It's a long term investment in infrastructure, book printing, re-education of teachers not up to standard, more + better training colleges. To rebuilt infrastructure like eskom, Prasa, the post office will take 20yrs - with dedicated, honesty + lots of money, because its not only trains + tracks, it's an entire industry. Ditto for the NHI bill - its not only hospitals, it's also the manufacturing of everything hosps needs.
@@firstcomment749 Two generations at least. You can't train the next lot with the skills that currently exist is this country. It is going to take a generation to get it back to where it was and a generation to filter down to where it matters. Take the police "service", for instance. All the cops with the detective skills and policing skills are all being forced into retirement now, because retirement age is a hard 60. There is no one to inherit those skills. The top layer are all political appointees, not people with policing backgrounds, so that is an entire next generation lost. Trying to instill discipline back into the police and army is going to be a massive battle against unions and human rights commissions. I'll stop there.
@dannyarcher6370 80%? How many people voted in 2019? Well let me help you. 66% of the population. out of which 57% voted ANC, 22% voted DA, 10% voted EFF. ANC had more votes in Northen Cape, which is 80% Coloured and White... Gauteng which is Majority Black, ANC won by narrow margins. so atleast 45% of black people in this country don't vote ANC or EFF. But your racism makes you paint all black people the same.
The Energy Minister looks away each time he says the word corruption. His body language indicates he knows about corruption. Sadly the skills are no longer in the country to run the power stations.
@@chrissmith2114 Rubbish, the Apartheid govt collected tax from 100 per cent of the working population but only build services and businesses to serve only 10% of the population- the white minority. You were living in the well serviced surburbs, all whilst oblivious to the suffering of the majority. So bad was their suffering, Apartheid was declared a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. Those who know, are well aware the ANC was set up to fail. It was saddled with huge debts incurred by the Apartheid regime, the West put a stop to foreign inward investment. The ANC was unable to meet their election promises because they were too busy paying off debt of £35 BILLION! iIn 1996 alone, the ANC paid off £230 MILLION in INTEREST and REPAYMENTS alone! That was enough money to provide healthcare for all, build 300 houses and several schools. South Africa like most African countries loses a fortune servicing unfair debt, whilst losing money to foreign corporations, who make off with $88 BILLION (across Africa) through Tax evasion, tax avoidance, intellectual property theft, unfair trade rules (the west demands free access to African markets, whilst imposing all manner of custom duty, and tariffs on African goods looking to access the European market place. The ANC may have made huge mistakes, but they were set up to fail!
It's called cANCa, killed our economy and hurt its people while enriching itself....sickening to watch our country collapse while politicians shepple its people with lies and corruption and mafia styled administration
@@panafrican.nation No one is immune to the ruining influence of power and money. Greed and selfishness chokes the life out of everyone. People who value materialistic and temporary treasures more than human life.
I lived and worked in Lesotho for 4 years in the early '90s and travelled extensively in SA. I love SA and it will always hold a very special place in my heart and memories. I will be forever grateful for wonderful kindness and generosity of the South African peoples. Watching this and videos like it breaks my heart.
Yes we are furious and I'm one to say that I'm NOT Voting for ANC after putting us through this preventable disaster. Our Economy's backbone is on its knees; therefore, I don't see a reason for the ANC to keep governing the country. ANC has failed in many ways!
Every state ( ANC ) run entity is bankrupt .South African Airways , Postal Service , South African Broadcasting Corporation , South African Railways except offcourse the South African Revenue Service which use taxpayers money to bailout these entities every few years.
A government employee who get paid a salary has no impetus to ensure maximum profit. Somebody who gets salary from how much profit he produces will (except in the cases of socialist minded free giving individuals). So (unfortunately) we cannot rely on getting production without remuneration which is why in our selfish morals we need to have private running of a productive enterprise - no SOE. But note that a monopoly has the same effect as you can make money without be economical as you can charge what you want and people have to pay as you only provider.
And instead of the government focusing on their declining country issues they are thinking about suing Isreal for war crime which I wonder what has to do with their dying economy.
Exactly. Their country is falling apart, multiple children dying due to hunger and gang violence, daily. Their focus is on the other countries, so that they can virtue signal and get people’s votes.
Colonialist meddling. Nato 5 eyes organisation have their fingerprints all over this. Look at the actions of jp morgan in funding the government opposition. And goldman sachs, hsbc, all up to their necks in meddling. Nothing about that in this propaganda. Do yiur own research. ;)
Another week, another smear on a brics member...yawn. last week India, russia the week before, china the week before that..yawn. About "exclusive" about as convincing as their propaganda on saddams weapons of mass destruction, Or covid vaccines, or man made co2 climate change. All confirmed lies my friend.
very important to emphasize that South Africa had among the 10 or 15 best infrastructure networks in the world up until the 90s, with Eskom still recognized as the world's best power supplier in the early 2000s. corruption is a formidable beast
“The best power supplier” Jesus what is with Saffas pretending to be gods chosen people! Get back in the back of the lines boys!! Take care of your poverty and corruption problems and then come to speak to the big boys! Damn!!!
@@shothastar that's not the point - they were given world-class institutions + all they needed to do was expand them. instead, they saw them as cashcows. As the famous ANC expression goes: "it is now our time to feast"
@@shothastar What about roads and trains that was not just for 7%, whuch they broke as well. Lets stop the excuses and get this corrupt government out.
This documentary is very well-done. It's accurate. It is fair, unbiased and lacks that ghastly, condescending western perspective. I love that it gave normal South Africans suffering under loadshedding a voice.
Righteousness exalt a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Take away the wicked from the Leadership and the government will be established in righteousness and prosperity. The love of money is the root of all evil. The conversation is about the company and not about those who are supposed to manage and supervise the system. This approach is in itself smell of corruption.
@4-SeasonNature Just like every other country in the world. Say, Dublin riots, for example. If citizens can burn police cars and attack police officers, it is clear that they have no regard for a rule of law. Nonetheless, you've said nothing other than what can be found on the internet. It's not your experience, but a Google search.
very important to emphasize that South Africa had among the 10 or 15 best infrastructure networks in the world up until the 90s, with Eskom still recognized as the world's best power supplier in the early 2000s. corruption is a formidable beast
What is the alternative vote for White people who introduced racist apartheid laws, excluded the blacks from all opportunities and then took their lands?
First of all apartheid was introduced in 1948 it was replaced in the 1960s when the ANC came into parliament Nelson Mandela ended only whit rule White people have been living in Capetown since 1400s and longer then the Bantu immigration bow the majority So even if you say the whites wanted their own areas. Why is that? Wonder why? Culture matters @@sulaak
@@TheMagicJIZZ what alternative history class did you take? ANC came to power in 1994. The first formal Apartheid laws came into being in 1913. White people arrived in the Cape in 1652...
At approx 13:00 the ANA south african Electricity Minister basically revealed why Eskom and the country has problems. The minister didn't make resolution of the huge continuing corruption as a priority. Instead he kept stressing that load shedding was the main problem and not the corruption.
Yet ANC is still get most votes. They dont deserve any better. Sorry. I lived in beachfront apartment complex in Cape Town. There were a couple black who owned flats there. All of them where in politics or close to it and had primary residence around Jo'burg.
When you take over a house from the previous owner, it's easy to believe that you have acquired a valuable asset and that it will just carry on being a valuable asset, however you look after it. Thirty years of rule by the ANC has shown that revolutionaries make terrible governments. Ideology makes terrible policy. They drove out the experts and found, surprise, surprise, stuff doesn't run without them. Utterly predictable. Utterly depressing.
this was a nonesensical docy, scoped and narrow in its view... all i heared was coal is bad lets go green... now why do we need to go green when half of our coal plants can be revived??? SA doesnt build wind turbines, solar panels and the like, who will services them (extra costs)? good prapaganda i guess for you to even think it (docy) was informative...
the main problem of SA is not too much reneweable energy... it's CORRUPTION and INCOMPETENCE at the highest levels. Don't look for excuses, focus on THAT. Failure to run power plants is not to be excused! @@CodeSleeper
Eskom needs to lose its monopoly. Others need to be allowed to build power station and sell to whom they want. Government should only be there to oversee they do not damage environment or exploit their workers and customers according to strict criteria. We need people that have a vested interest in providing power - not someone who keeps their job even when running at a loss.
I grew up in Congo and South Africa was a pride for me as a young African to see a country doing so well. But I don’t know how this country keeps going down in almost all sectors. South Africans should blame their corrupt ANC and its leaders instead of putting blame on African immigrants.
Sad to see another example of how the ANC is failing the people of SA. Looks like handing over power generation & distribution to the private sector is the solution in this case.
I think power is something a stte should run because its not about profit but providing everyone and having power safety But thats not working here so yeah you probably are correct
Abaye ejele...dis ones r real core criminals.nxxx Mabaqeda balalisa abantu ngama R350.Yoh rulling party.it has cost the country strue.life sentences dats wat dey deserve.
Crime and corruption is only 50% of the real story. In late 90' s government strong employment affirmative action for racial appointments policy started the process of decay in technical skills and competence. Up to 2000, Eskom was still technically up to the standard of the US/Europe power industry
it's not like energy production is a highly complex field ( it can be if you use nuclear power plants for example, but South Africa doesn't operate such stations ), corruption is definitely 99% of the issue here.
@@j4genius961South Africa operates a nuclear power station and a reactor for making isotopes for medical and industrial purposes. Also, you underestimate the challenges of operating and maintaining a plant even as simple as a coal-fired power plant. The ANC's plethora of racist laws really did contribute substantially to this crisis as well as to a host of others. The fact this this wasn't explored in this video is just an example of yellow journalism.
@gerhardventer8075 I never said that there's no complexity to it, just that it's not THAT complex. Or if you want there are more than enough people in South Africa RIGHT NOW with the intelligence and know-how to maintain and even expand these facilities, but the corruption at the top means that only the buddies of these useless politicians get the contracts and they have no incentive to do their job properly since they're getting paid regardless.
The ANC has been allowed to stay in power for the same exact reason that the Democrat party has been allowed to stay in power after destroying one major US city after another. These people come in and destroy everything they touch Black people go back to the polls every year and vote for them.
*"We are investigating the corruption and mismanagement of funds at Eskom..."* Sorry Boeta, South Africans have watched this movie before, it's not a nail biter for us... We know everything broken in South Africa: - will be fixed soon - we are investigating - we took out some of the bad officials (but we put them somewhere else) You all will say whatever you can, so we think you busy fixing everything, then in 5 years time, when we're asking again, you'll say the same stories.
i don't think they need to mention it , everyone is assuming that is the reason. guaranteed everyone in the comments is silently thinking " I bet it worked under apartheid"
Affirmative action is and was necessary. The advantage of "white people" who were given stolen land, 5 times more spent on their education, jobs allocated only to them and many other affirmative action on their behalf for 60 odd years. We needed to negate this. So we needed to ensure that equal education is given (this was not done - in white/coconut school 25 learners per class - in the disadvantaged schools 50 (down from 70)), if two capable people apply for a job then the "black person" should get it - especially if the hiring committee is "white". But what seems to have happened is that "friends" got jobs. (I have an ex-learner who is an electrical engineer who work in China). So it is not affirmative action but the application of affirmative action that should be examined
@@stephenmcbride1094 skills and competence are more important , let's take another african example , Mauritius . Most whites run the country almost all listed company in the local stock market have white CEO. Yet they make up less than 1% of population . Did the blacks take the sugar field lands away ? No they didn't , the govt massively invested in education so that both black and Indians can compete in the job market . They did not stole it. You can't give an industry to segregated people , they won't know how to run the business
@stephenmcbride1094 I'm 60 years old white skinned SA citizen. 1. I have zero stolen land and know of not one single white person I know who has not paid full price for land. 2. This country has been a equitable democratic state for almost 30 years. Run by an anc government that has disadvantaged whites from everything from educational bursaries, to tenders, so simply put "fair and equal" treatment which is prescribed by our constitution. 3. My children were brought up in a multi cultural environment with some black friends way wealthier than them and some less advantaged AT THE SAME SCHOOL. 4. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION is completely race affirming and divisive. My daughter top of province matric no bursaries due to skin color. Our construction business closed due to being too white to earn a living and being told this to our faces. This put many black & white workers out of an income and less tax to the receiver of revenue. How can this be good for our country ? Or any black , pink or purple person? It's all pure rasism. The rasism most whites voted AGAINST in favor of our current democratic rule. FACT WHY CONTINUE THE RACE HATRED ? CAN WE NOT ALL AGREE THAT WE ARE HERE IN THIS PLACE AND ALL HAVE TO MAKE IT WORK FOR ALL SOUTH AFRICANS. Please look at your race profiling, your entitlement, your own racial bias
Very revealing quote at 6:04. “There were huge social inequalities that needed to be addressed, And pouring money into old power stations did not really seem to be the top priority” Nothing shows the ANCs incompetence than neglecting the national power grid in favor of welfare payments!
Corruption aside, did anyone notice the renewable energy twist to the story? I find it amazing how for some reason the solution for no energy is to get rid of the only reliable source of energy. Even Germany is consuming more coal and the solution is to get rid of it in SA?
It's sad to watch this nation take the exact same route taken by many failed nations across Africa. What should have been a cautionary tale of what not to do has somehow become a model for South-African "leaders"
No you aren't. Connecticut's problems are mostly weather related. Irritates me when Yanks, usually Republicans try to exaggerate to denigrate their political foes.
Something that breaks my heart. Before this monstrous war in Gaza, Gaza was known as an open-air prison. I've looked at pictures of it. Even the ghettos in Gaza looked better and were better supported and supplied than places like Khayelitsha and Masiphumele. The failure of the ANC government extends way beyond Eskom, although Eskom has been a huge contributor to the economic collapse of South Africa. The ANC may have built a black billionaire class, mostly out of corruption. The sheer tragedy is the volume of people that have not only been left behind but have been rendered useless through the lack of jobs, education, food, electricity, transport and so much more. What makes it more vomitous is watching Ramaphosa swanning around overseas offering to solve the world's problems when he can't even govern his own country. In a way, South Africa is its own open-air prison. People cannot escape the poverty that the ANC government has inflicted on huge swathes of the population of South Africa.
Interesting that you draw parallels with Gaza when the root problem is the same - greedy politicians who have international ideological support, siphoning off money that is meant to be used to support their people and creating a two-tier society where those who are able to plug in to government cashflow become rich and those who aren't are left to struggle.
Sad to learn about the energy problems in South Africa! Having worked there, taught physics, chemistry(physical science) biology and maths to many students ..its painful to watch the country , mandela’s country going down the drain. The contribution to this is affirmative action policy which encouraged employing only black south africans even when they could not do the jobs.
Affirmative action is there to right the disadvantages people have. For years (generations) they have had inferior education. The hiring people are white with a white perspective different to them. Their homes are not conducive to study. They have to work to help support their family. So we need to ensure that those that rise to the top get better education. Those that rise to the top get access to universities their parents cannot afford. Those that prove capable should get preference for jobs. What we should be questioning is the management of affirmative action NOT the program of correcting the injustices of the past. If we allow the powers that be it will continue to build their "nobility" at the expense of probably capable people.
It's Sad how this country is run. Because if ANC is so corrupted and so much stealing. So the poor ppk like us really suffer. I still stand with DA. I wish they could run this country
One of biggest impact it has one each south African family...is no power to their fridge and freezer...the cold chain...and when food is not kept cold like milk .meat .veg.everthing we know to find in our fridge and freezer...is at total risk... food security in the home...is put at risk directly every time the power goes out...my family has lost hundreds of rands in food going off due to the fridge and freezer being off for long period of time...
I've also had to throw away food because of load shedding and power outage (izinyoka). I also got really sick after eating food that had been in the fridge after a power outage.
This is tragic. I was in South Africa 10 years ago and it was nothing like this 31:40 you can’t steal Sun and wind which is why the transition is resisted
Sun and wind aka renewable sources of energy ARE NOT RELIABLE, what happens when it is raining constantly, what happens if there is no wind? Any chemical engineering student (Oil & Gas specialism) will tell you, NUCLEAR provides more energy and it is CLEAN! Africa needs nuclear energy for the 4th industrial revolution, but the Europeans are conspiring to prevent that from happening ,because they want Africa to remain an agrarian society, consumers, never manufacturers! They want the coal and uranium for themselves.
SA needs to unite against the ANC. Those old crocks need to be on pension. We need to try another party that will not make us suffer like the current regime.
26:32 "$20-25 bn to strengthen and expand the grid by 14,000 kms" Pretty sure that can be at least halved if the country first dealt with corruption. You might get the money in full tomorrow and the problem will still remain unsolved. Clean up the government first.
