DTIC and Eskom grant smelter tariff demand and reject nationalisation
Updated
Updated · CounterPunch · May 7
DTIC and Eskom grant smelter tariff demand and reject nationalisation
5 articles · Updated · CounterPunch · May 7
In March, South Africa's trade ministry and power utility backed NUMSA's call for cheaper electricity to reopen mothballed smelters after 55 of 66 had shut by 2025.
The report says the state would not consider taking over the industry, despite union demands tied to beneficiation and jobs, and argues smelters remain economically and environmentally hard to justify.
It places the decision in a wider deindustrialisation debate, with unions split between protectionist industrial policy and a broader just-transition model centred on public energy, community needs and cleaner power.
Can South Africa's clashing unions forge a path beyond deindustrialization and ecological collapse?
Amid global trade wars, which powers are truly shaping the post-dollar financial world?
How is corporate AI transforming modern warfare and America's projection of power in West Asia?