THE ANC YOUTH LEAGUE WELCOMES ESKOM TURNAROUND AND REJECTS PRIVATISATION

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS YOUTH LEAGUE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

Chief Albert Luthuli House, 7th Floor, Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Str, Johannesburg, 2001 P.O Box 61884, Marshalltown, 2107 Tel: +27 11 376 1000

Official African National Congress Youth League ANCYL_hq ANCYL_hq Officialancylhq ANCYL HQ Communications

For Immediate Release 31 August 2026

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) welcomes the Eskom results announced today and congratulates the ANC-led Government on the progress made in restoring the country’s electricity utility. The reported R30.3 billion profit after tax, following a second consecutive profitable year, together with the significant reduction in load shedding, are important developments. They demonstrate that the work to restore Eskom is yielding results.

For the ANCYL, the turnaround at Eskom carries an important political lesson. For years, the challenges at Eskom were used to argue that the state had no place in managing strategic economic infrastructure. Unbundling and privatisation were presented as inevitable solutions to the challenges facing the utility. The progress at Eskom has once again demonstrated that this argument cannot be sustained. A State-Owned Enterprise that was once declared beyond repair is now profitable and providing electricity with improved reliability. This confirms the position the ANCYL has consistently advanced: the challenges facing State-Owned Enterprises cannot be used as a justification to hand strategic public assets over to private capital. The ANCYL rejects the privatisation of Eskom and further rejects any approach to unbundling that undermines public ownership and control of South Africa’s strategic electricity infrastructure.

The lesson from Eskom is not that the state must retreat from the economy. The lesson is that the state must have the capacity to govern, manage and intervene effectively in strategic sectors of the economy. Eskom remains central to South Africa’s economic future, and its recovery must now be used to drive industrialisation, localisation and economic transformation. A reliable electricity supply must translate into increased economic activity, greater investment, expanded industrial capacity and, importantly, more opportunities for young people to participate meaningfully in the economy.

There is still work to be done. Eskom’s financial position and municipal debt remain areas requiring attention, while the utility must continue strengthening its operational performance. These challenges, however, do not provide a basis for privatisation. The ANCYL welcomes the progress made at Eskom and calls for the gains achieved to be consolidated and sustained. Strategic State-Owned Enterprises must remain instruments of the developmental state and must serve the broader national interest.

We congratulate the ANC-led Government, as well as the workers and management of Eskom, on this important turnaround. The recovery of Eskom reaffirms the principle that strategic public assets must be strengthened, transformed and placed at the service of the people, not handed over to private capital.

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Issued by the African National Congress Youth League ANCYL Secretary General Comrade Tsakani Shiviti

For Enquiries: ANCYL National Spokesperson Comrade Sindiswa Scheepers 081 771 7358 ancylhqcommunications@gmail.com

President: Collen Malatji Deputy President: Francisco Dyantyi Secretary General: Tsakani Shiviti 1st Dep. Secretary General: Zama Khanyase 2nd Dep. Secretary General: Venus Blennies-Magage Treasurer General: Jacob Tau