SANDF deployment to Eskom is pointless, say experts

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The government’s decision to once again deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to safeguard Eskom power plants, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, has been met with opposition by experts, who argue that it is a futile exercise.

They said that the government should focus on ending the blackouts rather than using soldiers to guard the utility’s gates.

They added that using the SANDF was pointless because the army was not allowed inside Eskom’s facilities, which meant they could not prevent crimes occurring within the utility.

Energy expert Lungile Mashele said the announcement by Ramaphosa had raised a number of questions, such as whether the deployment had actually been requested by the Eskom board or whether it was merely a political stunt.

She questioned whether the government had reviewed the previous deployment of soldiers to Eskom in March to ascertain whether it had been successful in deterring criminality.

“The last time I checked, the previous deployees were manning the gates at Eskom. I don’t think that’s the most efficient use of limited resources.”

Dr Simon Howell, a senior researcher at UCT’s Centre of Criminology, told the M&G it was questionable for the government to deploy the SANDF now when crime had long been a problem at the utility.

“The primary concern is how extensive the theft, vandalism and deterioration of Eskom’s facilities are. Government is giving priority to the problems now, but the question now is why this was not done many months and years ago,” he said.

Eskom’s head of security, Karen Pillay told Business Day that the SANDF deployment had not had a notable effect on deterring criminal activity at certain plants because they had focused on the entrance and exit points of the power stations.

This comes after Ramaphosa deployed 880 soldiers to protect Eskom power stations for six months at a cost of more than R146 million on Saturday. 

“Members of the SANDF will assist police to protect Eskom power stations around the country where sabotage, theft and other crimes may threaten the functioning of stations and supply of electricity,” the presidency said at the weekend.

In March, the presidency announced 2 700 members had been appointed for a month and the number was then decreased. 

Eskom has been complaining about the high levels of corruption and criminality in its facilities which have contributed to increased load-shedding levels.

The SANDF in a letter to the president said that the ongoing acts of theft, vandalism and general criminality were affecting Eskom’s energy generation and transmission infrastructure, “which needs to be urgently secured and protected from further threats”.

Eskom previously announced that soldiers would be deployed to four of its power stations – Camden, Grootvlei, Majuba and Tutuka – and the presidency said a minimum of 10 soldiers would be stationed at each site.

Responding to questions, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said: “Eskom welcomes the deployment of additional SANDF soldiers at its sites, as this is seen as a measure to curb crimes at power stations. The presence and visibility of additional reinforcements will assist law enforcement agencies and Eskom security in safeguarding and preserving the national assets.”

Governance expert Professor William Gumede told the M&G that the government has shown a lack of seriousness in dealing with the energy crisis and that the deployment of soldiers was not a solution to Eskom’s problems.

He added that deploying the SANDF to Eskom showed that the government did not understand how deep the utility’s problems are. 

The use of the SANDF did not take away the possibility of a complete collapse of the country’s power grid.

“We are not debating enough the prospect of grid failure, number one, and secondly, what the implications would be for a grid failure. If one looks at almost the lack of seriousness in dealing with the power issue from the government … most of the measures that we’ve seen so far have been very superficial, thinking on the margins, not dealing with the real issues. If that continues, we continue on that trajectory of superficial measures, we will get a grid failure.”

Mandisa Nyathi is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa