Another company that must be held to account is BHP Billiton. This report called on Eskom to renegotiate all of its special pricing arrangements which are seeing our scarce energy resources being sold at costs that, in many cases, are substantially lower than the cost of producing it.
The one contract that has not been renegotiated is the one with BHP Billiton. It accounts for over 1 700 megawatt - equivalent to the energy requirements of a small city. BHP Billiton has also fought tooth and nail to prevent details of this contract becoming public, indicating that they have something to hide. We want to know who signed this 35-year contract that is costing our country billions of rands. We also want public pressure to be brought to bear on this company in order to force it to the negotiating table so that we can get a better deal for all South Africans. In the midst of an energy crisis, these kinds of special pricing arrangements cannot be allowed to continue and we must fight it with everything we have. [Applause.]