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PrintJOHANNESBURG — Construction work at all Eskom sites countrywide have been suspended following the accident at a site near Ladysmith where six people died, CEO Brian Dames said yesterday.
“It is too early to properly understand exactly what happened and to understand the impact it would have on any of our activities, but for now the site will remain closed until the investigation is concluded,” he said.
“Safety is non-negotiable … I have instructed that there is a work stoppage on all of Eskom’s construction sites and that would allow everybody to stop the work to reflect on the safety standards on sites.”
He said this would ensure that all the safety standards were in place. The stoppage would last for as long as it took until all site managers were sure that their safety standards were in place and checked.
There was no “production pressure” that was more important than the safety of people, he said.
Dames was addressing the media at theEskom headquarters in Johannesburg along with chairperson Zola Tsotsi and general manager Gerrie Bronkhorst.
Bronkhorst said four of the six people who died in the accident at Eskom’s Ingula pumped storage scheme near Ladysmith on Thursday morning were foreigners.
“Of the six fatalities, four are foreign nationals and two are South Africans,” he said.
He would not divulge their nationalities.
“Of those injured, three have been discharged and four are still in the ICU.”
He said the accident happened between 8.15 am and 9 am on Thursday.
Dames said an investigation would be led by an external legal team and Eskom would take remedial action.
“We will ensure that the families are looked after and we will not leave a stone unturned to ensure that they are looked after,” he said.
“Safety for us is very important. It is important to allow time for the investigation to take place.”
Dames said Eskom would not release the names of those who had died until all family members had been notified and he asked that those injured be given space to recover in hospital.
He made an appeal to contractors that all of them stand up and take personal responsibility for the safety in their companies and for their employees.
“I think we have seen significant strides from Eskom in focusing on safety but think we have not seen that from companies that work for us,” he said.
“We are determined to make sure that those that died did not die in vain. We will use the lessons that we learned from this tragedy to make sure that lives are safe in the future.”
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