Yes we use coal because we have a lot of it. And because Gwede Mantashe, the minister of mineral resources and energy, is in deep with the coal industry. I think he'd marry a block of coal if he could.
The crisis is due to multiple things. It starts with neoliberal reforms by Thabo Mbeki in the 2000s, he ignored reports by the state run electricity company (Eskom) that they needed funds to do maintenance and build new power infrastructure. Thus the first round of rolling electricity blackouts in the late 2000s. From there on its been a lack of maintenance, running equipment over the limits in a short term push to keep the lights on, trying to buy a ton of diesel to fire up massive generators, using low quality coal witch messed up equipment, sabotage by Eskom employees and other contractors (such as cutting powerlines down just so they can fix them, but with regards to all power infrastructure), and blatant corruption and theft. Apparently 1 billon rand goes missing every month at Eskom.
There's been big drama as the Eskom CEO resigned with a no holds barred interview blowing the lid on all the shenanigans at Eskom after someone tried to poison him. While he has been a massive failure as CEO, this has earned him some good will, especially among the upper class. There is also the fact that he's a white guy, so he gets more credibility amongst the white middle and upper class.
Yes we use coal because we have a lot of it. And because Gwede Mantashe, the minister of mineral resources and energy, is in deep with the coal industry. I think he'd marry a block of coal if he could.
The crisis is due to multiple things. It starts with neoliberal reforms by Thabo Mbeki in the 2000s, he ignored reports by the state run electricity company (Eskom) that they needed funds to do maintenance and build new power infrastructure. Thus the first round of rolling electricity blackouts in the late 2000s. From there on its been a lack of maintenance, running equipment over the limits in a short term push to keep the lights on, trying to buy a ton of diesel to fire up massive generators, using low quality coal witch messed up equipment, sabotage by Eskom employees and other contractors (such as cutting powerlines down just so they can fix them, but with regards to all power infrastructure), and blatant corruption and theft. Apparently 1 billon rand goes missing every month at Eskom.
There's been big drama as the Eskom CEO resigned with a no holds barred interview blowing the lid on all the shenanigans at Eskom after someone tried to poison him. While he has been a massive failure as CEO, this has earned him some good will, especially among the upper class. There is also the fact that he's a white guy, so he gets more credibility amongst the white middle and upper class.