16 March 2001
Today, we celebrate the achievements of Eskom under changed conditions. As a country and a people, we are making remarkable progress towards building a non-racial and democratic society. Eskom's celebration of its RDP achievements does not take place in isolation. It is an essential part and made possible by the transformation process lead by the democratic ANC government. We see this achievements as a further vindication that we were not fundamentally wrong in choosing the path of development as we did in 1994.
The RDP is the concrete vehicle through which we were to ensure a direct link between the transformation of the state and its organs and socio-economic reform. It is in this understanding that we continue to locate the link between growth, development and transformation in South Africa. Transformation of this nature is key to achieving genuine peace and stability, reconciliation and nation-building in our country.
But as we insisted in 1994 when the ANC came into power, we should today remind ourselves that the RDP is not a set of isolated projects. It is an integrated programme that aims to transform every facet of our society. Government was always mindful of the many challenges in implementing an integrated programme in a society characterised by uneven development between the various regions of our country and the culture of planning informed by separate development. I must say that the initiatives undertaken since 1994 have made it possible to lay a firm foundation for a better life for all South Africans. The record over the past six years clearly tells us that we are indeed making progress in overcoming the ravages of apartheid.
The socio-economic legacy we inherited makes the RDP so relevant and a necessity in the transformation agenda. Therefore, the RDP for us is not about the past but about the dreams of a better future for our children and grandchildren. Eskom understood the message and significance of the RDP. The 10 RDP commitments by Eskom reflect the impact this organisation has on the lives of the majority of South Africans.
Implementation of RDP projects without a fundamental transformation of the institutional culture, practice and resource allocation within enterprises will not achieve the stated objectives. I am proud that one of the critical milestone in this process has been to change the staff profile of Eskom between 1994 and 2000 so that more than 50% of managerial, professional and supervisory staff would be black South Africans. In this respect our electricity utility had actually achieved a percentage of 50.7%. This is an important achievement that brings up many new challenges. This achievement is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for achieving further growth. We need to ensure that these professional women and men are supported and brought to drive the core activities of the utility.
We have said that Eskom relate to every aspect of our people's lives. It is electricity that drive the machines of our industries, switch millions of homes in our communities, provide the light for our students to do their work, etc. Energy is therefore indispensable to creating better living conditions for the people. It is a challenge to all of us to make it accessible to the majority of black people in general. The commitment to reduce the price of electricity by 15% and electrification of more than two million houses, especially in the rural areas is an important part of this process. I am aware that a further R300m was spent on the electrification of schools and clinics and on other community development activities during this period. Again, our approach to restructuring informs us that well run and efficient state- owned enterprises will be in a better position to meet the development and global challenges facing our society.
The achievements of the past six years speak for themselves in terms of black economic empowerment. It remains our commitment to use effectively the procurement of SOE to ensure that they contribute to the realisation of the goals of BEE, and facilitate development. Government has said that Eskom, together with Transnet, Telkom, Denel and other SOEs represent massive financial and material resources to be deployed in a coherent and strategic manner. They are key to positioning our economy globally whilst continuing to provide the critical domestic needs of the country and continent.
There are still many challenges ahead of us. The preparations to meet these challenges are critical to this process. Again, we need to reaffirm the approach of our government that restructuring is not about destroying the capacity built over many decades. Our people will also understand that without some kind of restructuring, we will not be able to realise the full value of Eskom and other SOEs. Government is conscious of the strategic significance of Eskom to the economy as a whole, to the everyday lives of the majority of the people and to industry.
The restructuring of Eskom is located within the approach of managed liberalisation that President Mbeki outlined during his Opening Address to Parliament. Government will guide and manage these processes in manner that advances the economic and social goals of the democratic state.
The realisation of macro-economic stability will not be sufficient enough to ensure that growth and development take place. This requires an active state able to intervene actively and ensure that the real economy i.e. micro-economy, job creation and infrastructure are activated.
An essential element in achieving competitiveness is by reducing input costs. Transport and energy are critical in achieving this objective. We are confident that the restructuring of both these sectors will contribute in no small measure towards these goals. It is within this economic framework that we will liberalise the energy sector.
In conclusion, I need to congratulate all Eskomites for the commitment to our country and active contribution to the realisation of these objectives. As states earlier, we have not reached the end of the road as yet. The legacy of apartheid remains with us. As government, we will ensure that RDP driven objectives are advanced in this new period of our transformation process. The Shareholder Compact with Eskom seeks to consolidate and advance some of these important development objectives. We are saying that the RDP is about the future. Eskom has a critical role to play in advancing the goals for human dignity, social justice and economic development in our society.
I thank you.