We are calling upon everyone and the ANC is particular to join us in ensuring that these jobs are not destroyed by Eskom.

It is said about 6 000 jobs are going to be destroyed. Those are direct employees of Eskom. I am not talking about the mines that are feeding coal to Eskom Power Stations. The number is going to increase. Talking to Eskom, they said they are implementing the decisions of the shareholder. The shareholder is the government.

As we speak the state president of South Africa is Jacob Zuma who is also a member and leader of the African National Congress (ANC), it cannot be that our ANC is going to destroy jobs and sentence us to unemployment.We have to fight comrades. We want to see the ANC in the forefront defending jobs of mine and energy workers.

There are no other way comrades. It is either we stand firm and fight or we accept to lose these jobs. This is something we have to fight and this is something we have to win. The most painful thing is that the renewable energy produced by the Independent Power Producers (IPP's) is going to be sold through Eskom. We are saying and we have said that Eskom is a government entity, if the IPP's have got power to generate, let them stand alone and compete with Eskom. We must defend these jobs.

The leadership of the NUM will have to declare a national strike not only for energy workers. It must include mining, construction and energy. If we lose those jobs in Mpumalanga, it means that we will have accepted the closure of those power stations, accept to buy electricity at an increased price and we do not have money. We have built those power stations. If the IPP's have got their own energy, we are not against renewable energy, but we are saying that anyone who has energy must compete with Eskom. Eskom cannot be used to promote people who want to destroy jobs.

There are also environmentalists who have been going around the world saying coal is dirty therefore it should not be mined anymore. Our electricity in South Africa, the one we can afford is from coal. We are saying that our Eskom must be saved. Our jobs must be saved. No one is going to save them because the government has already said they must be destroyed. It is us as workers who must save Eskom and these jobs.