Former South African president, Jacob Zuma has made claims that there are people who are behind loadshedding, and he knows who they are. Zuma said this during the South African National Civic (Sanco) elective conference in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that was held in Durban, where he was elected as its chairman. He further stated that the people tried this during his administration, but he managed to deal with them.??

?LOADSHEDDING?

In a one-minute 42-second video clip from the conference, Zuma said the people who approached him were employed by Eskom. "I was lucky enough because I was told about the load-shedding plans before it started, and I know how it started. The loadshedding was started by people who wanted to venture into business and make money out of it. There was a lot of money at Eskom so these people came to me and said let's do business and destabilise the power stations by providing less coal and then Eskom will run out of diesel. They set this thing up very nicely," he said. ?

BUSINESS DEALS?

Zuma didn't explain how the power utility employees are making money out of loadshedding. He added that the employees allocated money to fund their new business deals on loadshedding. "That's when I decided to find some skilled and qualified people to work on making sure there is no loadshedding," he said.?

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SANCO CHAIRPERSON?

Zuma made headlines over the weekend when he was appointed as the chairperson of Sanco in KZN. Newly appointed treasurer, Thulani Gamede told Sanco delegates that they saw Zuma as a member who aligns with the organisation's values and principles. Explaining Zuma's appointment as the chairperson Gamede was quoted saying that they view Zuma as a member who has extensive knowledge of the struggles of the province. "His age does not limit his ability to perform his duties. Therefore, electing him is the final step, to indicate that he can still play a role in building the country." Meanwhile, Sanco general-secretary Robbie Tsikwe told other media outlets that the organisation was not aware of the conference in KwaZulu-Natal and had no knowledge of Zuma's new appointment.