When a character named English Bob arrives in the town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a deputy sheriff tells him and his companion to surrender their firearms to the authorities for the duration of their stay. Bob, who is packing two pistols, says they aren’t carrying any, adding, “We rely upon the goodwill of our fellow men and the forbearance of reptiles.”
These words from Clint Eastwood’s last western movie, Unforgiven, came to mind while listening to President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing his plan for dealing with the country’s energy crisis.
The plan has the following pillars:
- Improving the performance Eskom’s existing fleet of power stations;
- Accelerating the procurement of new generation capacity;
- Significantly increasing private investment in generation capacity;
- Enabling businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar; and
- Transforming the electricity sector and positioning it for future sustainability.
Though four years late and hundreds of billions of rand short, the plan can make a difference to the crisis that has progressively worsened over the past 13.5 years. How much difference it will make will depend on the forbearance of reptiles (metaphorically speaking), of which there are many in Ramaphosa’s governing party; Eskom; cabinet members; and civil servants. He will also need the goodwill of fellow South Africans.
Of the two, the forbearance of “reptiles”, or rather the lack of it, will be Ramaphosa’s most significant hurdle — culture, which has been variously described as “the way we do things around here”. I doubt that Eskom CEO André de Ruyter did whisper into Ramaphosa’s ear that the biggest challenge he has faced since joining Eskom has been trying to change the culture of the utility.
According to John Kotter, author and emeritus professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School, culture is powerful for the following reasons:
- Individuals are selected for and indoctrinated with a particular culture over many years;
- The culture exerts itself through the actions of hundreds or thousands of people; and
- As all of this happens without much conscious intent it is difficult to challenge or even discuss.
A particular culture, which has been documented most recently in the Zondo state capture commission reports, has exerted itself over many years in the ANC, the public service, Eskom, and in the cabinet. That’s the steep mountain Ramaphosa’s plan will face.
Kotter defines culture as norms of behaviour and shared values among a group of people. “Norms of behaviour are common or pervasive ways of acting … that persist because group members tend to behave in ways that teach these … practices to new members, rewarding those who fit in and sanctioning those who do not,” he writes in Leading Change.
The success of each of the five pillars of Ramaphosa’s plan depends on a change in what has over a decade or so gelled into norms of behaviour and shared values. These norms and values — of theft, fraud and corruption — are wrong.
Take improvements in the performance of Eskom’s existing power stations. Ramaphosa said Eskom will expand its budget for critical maintenance over the next 12 months “to increase the reliability of its generation capacity”. Eskom will also be freed from the clutches of the Public Finance Management Act so that it can shorten the time it takes to buy maintenance spares and equipment.
Corruption metastasised
These two measures should help, but for them to make a big difference will require the forbearance of those who have been benefiting from the chaos at Eskom. If these measures are to make a difference soon a dramatic change in culture at Eskom is required. And that, as Kotter has pointed out and De Ruyter knows only too well from his experience thus far at the utility, isn’t easy.
There are also Ramaphosa’s comrades. Corruption has metastasised over the years so much that it has become “the way things are done” in what is increasingly resembling the Wild West. This means Ramaphosa’s comrades will, as during the Covid-19 pandemic, seek to profit from the measures aimed at dealing with the energy crisis. Where they cannot they will stall progress or, as happened in Gauteng, murder those who stand in their way.
You can expect resistance too from trade unions and the black business lobby. The latter grouping might feel threatened by the freeing of Eskom from the state’s procurement requirements and what Ramaphosa called “the pragmatic approach to local content requirements”.
What is clear is that Ramaphosa has no plan for getting the forbearance of “reptiles” and the goodwill of fellow South Africans. But without the goodwill and the forbearance of various “constituencies” progress will be slow, keeping the nation in the dark for a lot longer.
• Sikhakhane, a former spokesperson for the finance minister, National Treasury and Reserve Bank, is editor of The Conversation Africa. He writes in his personal capacity.
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