Alec Erwin's fall from grace continues unabated. He was, during the second half of the 1990s, one of the world's most respected trade and industry ministers. He fought the good fight in the WTO, he oversaw the DTI's restructuring (ok that was a mess), and created the Competition Commission, amongst other good things.
As minister of public enterprises, the only commendable thing he's done has been to place Maria Ramos in charge of Transnet's overhaul. The list of unadulterated screwups is now really long. From mysterious loose bolts in Koeberg (just before a local election in the Western Cape), to protecting SAA CEO Khaya Nqula without question (and taking SAA further back into the state and repeatedly giving it lots of taxpayer money), to Eskom. Take your pick(s). And the Erwinisms! He'd give Dubbya a run for his money in the race to be most incoherent.
The latest is peachy. Eskom, after getting a 15% or so price increase out of the regulator late last year (they wanted about 19%), has just applied for another price increase. Unadjusted their new request is a moerse SIXTY percent. Apparently late last year they couldn't foresee that in order to respond to the power crisis, running costs might have to rise along with the capex. MORONS.
Anyway, so the Business Day today says: "Economists have also warned of the harmful effect of such a sharp tariff spike on the inflation rate. But Erwin said it was better to begin the increases at once than hit consumers with one heavy blow later... 'We are proposing that it will be better for everybody to take those costs now rather than wait until 2009 and probably have a 100% increase.'"
Gee thanks Mr Minister. But isn't 60% one bladdy heavy blow now? Where was this wisdom eight years ago? Dooooos!!!!
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