Public policy debates in South Africa often prioritise personalities over legal frameworks, as seen in the contentious discourse surrounding Eskom's transmission business. Masibongwe Sihlahla argues that governance, rather than rhetoric, must guide the reform process to ensure a sustainable electricity future.
There is something distinctly South African about the way we conduct public policy debates.
We rarely begin with the law. We begin with personalities. We choose sides, declare heroes and villains, and then work backwards in search of legal justification. Somewhere along the way, the actual governance question quietly slips out of the conversation.
The latest disagreement over Eskom's transmission business is a textbook example.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has argued that the country's electricity reforms should culminate in the establishment of a fully independent Transmission System Operator that owns the national grid. The Eskom board, led by Mteto Nyati, has taken a more measured view, maintaining that the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) should remain within the Eskom Holdings structure while operating independently.
