WHITE monopoly capital, with support from Western governments, is trying to de-industrialise the Southern African Development Community (SADC), South Africa included, by, among other schemes, sabotaging power utility Eskom just as it did with giant steel maker Ziscosteel, political analyst Mr Rutendo Matinyarare has said.
In a recent interview with South African news channel Newzroom Afrika, where he shared insights on Eskom’s failure to produce adequate power, Mr Matinyarare blamed colonial-era mining companies like Anglo American, ISCO, Lancashire Steel and Voestalpine for weakening Eskom’s ability to recapitalise and rehabilitate its ageing infrastructure.
The same companies, he said, were responsible for Ziscosteel’s collapse, as they feared an industrialised Africa could produce its own military hardware and exploit its own resources.
“What we saw with Ziscosteel was sabotage by monopoly makers. And these monopoly makers were companies like Anglo American, ISCO of South Africa, Lancashire Steel and Voestalpine, which were manufacturing the machines that were used in smelting iron and steel in Zimbabwe,” he added.
“Now, Ziscosteel is in many ways very similar to Eskom. Ziscosteel was the biggest steel and iron manufacturer in the southern hemisphere, the biggest in Africa.
“And what the problem was, was, when we got independence, the Western world was not happy to bestow an African country with the ability to produce iron and the ability to create military hardware and industrial hardware that would have industrialised Zimbabwe or Africa.”
Eskom itself, he said, was created by white monopoly capital, which it needed to supply its mines, but it later abandoned it after making huge profits.
“Remember, Eskom was built off the gold, platinum and exploitation of diamonds of South Africa,” he said.
“And when the mining companies were paying for those services, they were not paying enough in order to allow for replacement costs in future. It was simply making money for the moment.
“What we have got now is that we have got an Eskom that did not save enough from the services that it gave these mining companies.
“Those profits went into the mining companies that are outside the country, some of them are leaving because the gold is finished.”
He also accused Western-backed white monopoly capital and civic organisations of manipulating the South African media to advance a narrative that state capture was responsible for Eskom’s struggles.
“That is a false narrative. The state capture happened with Anglo American and the white capital (during the colonial era).
“And then this false narrative that the Guptas that control less than 5 percent of the economy have captured the state. It’s an embarrassment, quite frankly. That is why you see that even Glencore doesn’t appear in the report because it was tailored evidence to manufacture consent to a certain narrative.
“You have a situation where Anglo American controls 60 percent of the South African economy, followed by the Ruperts, who controlled another 20 percent and so forth and so on. How is it that people that have less than 5 percent of the economy capture the economy?”
Refusal by Western-backed financial institutions to lend Eskom support, he added, is evidence of a new kind of economic sanctions and subtle regime change agenda. – Sunday Mail
