There’s been widespread condemnation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest commitment that South Africa will soon start dismantling its coal mining sector as part of the so-called ‘Just Energy Transition’ to renewable energy sources. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the EFF swiftly rejected Ramaphosa’s commitment made at the COP27 conference underway in Egypt all expressing concerns of a possible jobs bloodbath. The two unions, influential at Eskom and in the mining sector, accused the government of failing to consult coal mining communities most likely to be affected by the transition. The NUM was more measured in its criticism stating that while it supported the transition in principle, it strongly felt the government should have consulted affected parties domestically before committing the country in global platforms. “When you look at a coal mine that supplies a power station I am sure we will agree that we are talking of more than 15 thousand people who are working at the power station and at the mine. When you implement it you must tell us now and say in 5 years I am going to close this mine, I am going to close this power station. “What is the plan about the workers so that come that time there’s no discussion about the workers there is a plan to say in terms of the power station, in terms of the coal mine this is what we are going to do. “So the problem with South Africa is that you have got a committee that deals with energy transition established by the very same president. Bif you look at what the committee is doing, it is that while we are talking about what should happen , somewhere the decision is already concluded.
“So these are some of the challenges that we are facing and then the question that we asked is, it has been concluded with who? So we don’t think there can be consultation and implementation at the same time. We were never consulted nor was Cosatu”, said NUM General Secretary William Mabapa. The NUM and federation were first to endorse Ramaphosa to take over as ANC president ahead of the ANC 2017 conference. “South Africa has been told to stop relying on coal and to depend on renewable energy, but on the other perspective, you can see that developed countries are importing coal and using it to develop their countries and their economies. The question then becomes, whose class interests are being advanced when we are told not to rely on our own mineral resources in order to boost our economy?” asked NUMSA Deputy General Secretary Mbuso Ngubane.
The EFF was hard hitting, warning it will oppose the president on the matter and that it hopes he will not be there to implement it as he would be removed during the 2024 general elections if not at the upcoming ANC elective conference. The EFF said it wants to “ assure the United Kingdom, France, the United States of America and the rest of the hypocrites of the West, that their puppet Ramaphosa will not have the power to implement their nonsensical resolutions. “By the year 2024, Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer be in power to implement the genocidal decision to destroy the South African coal mining sector, and the EFF will ensure that none of the loans provided to destroy our coal sector are repaid”, said the EFF in a statement. While the government is yet to seek consensus from South Africans, Ramaphosa has on occasions emphasised that South Africa’s international partners which include the powerful trio of Germany, France and the USA have committed over 8 billion dollars to ensure a fair transition including compensation for workers that may find themselves out of jobs. Even as he recommitted the country yesterday, Ramaphosa reminded the allies to fulfill their end of the bargain. “It is our hope that this partnership will offer a ground-breaking approach to funding by developed countries for the ambitious but necessary mitigation and adaptation goals of developing countries,” he said during one of the sessions.