EISHKOM

David Chemaly

“Please switch off all the computers and lights. We will be switching over to the generator shortly.” A constant occurrence during school hours, and although it may be irritating at times, Paul Roos is fortunate enough to be in the position to provide electricity during load shedding. However, most schools, and even businesses, do not have the means available to spend tens of thousands (sometimes even hundreds of thousands) to deter ESKOM’s ever-looming presence.

ESKOM certainly has been a force to be reckoned with in recent years – especially when compared to its competitors which now number a staggering 0 for the 100th year in a row. This has clearly proven time and time again to economists why South Africa will not be bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic due to ESKOM’s newly adopted annual cycle: it begins nice and slow with Stage 2, before being ramped up to Stage 4 and then pushed into overdrive with Stage 6 or 8.

Sometimes ESKOM comes up with a decent excuse such as “maintenance” (they quite enjoy this one); other times they struggle as much as the Semper editorial team does with coming up with ideas, and churn out a rather lackluster one, such as they “left the coal out in the rain”. Although they always forget a rather obvious flaw…corruption (someone should definitely remind them be- cause they keep forgetting).

But, have no fear, the South African government has made it a priority to get ESKOM back on track and to its glory days of no load shedding. Which is precisely why 2023 started with load shedding, despite the government resolving nearly R200 billion of ESKOM’s debt. Economically, it is tearing the country to shreds. The rand keeps worsening month after month, our unemployment dorpies, landskappe en streke, soos die Kalahari, Victoriawaterval en die Okavango Delta. Die Victoriawaterval is vir baie Vasbyters hulle gunstelingdeel van die toer omdat ons daar “bungee jumping” en “white-river rafting” doen wat perfek is vir adrenalien-junkies.

Op die toer leer jy baie oor die natuur. Elke seun kry ’n spesifieke boom wat jy moet vind en dan moet jy ’n plaatjie met die boom se naam, wetenskaplike naam en jou eie naam daarop inkap. Almal word daagliks in vier spanne verdeel, naamlik tegnies, skoonmaak, kosmaak en fotografie. Jy moet dus verskillende take verrig.

Op die Vasbyt word oefening gedoen wat jou fikser as ooit tevore maak.

Al die oefening berei jou ook voor vir die hoogtepunt van die toer: Die roetemars. Dit is volgens al die Vasbyters die moeilikste ding wat hulle al in hulle hele lewe gedoen het en dit sal altyd so wees. Om ongeveer 53 kilometer in die Kalahari te stap, in 40 grade Celsius, terwyl jy verskillende bagasie dra, is alles behalwe maklik. Die gevoel wat jy kry wanneer jy uiteindelik klaarmaak, is iets wat moeilik is om te beskryf.

Dit is dalk ’n bietjie te veel inligting om behoorlik te verwerk, maar dit is iets wat ’n mens nooit, ooit sal vergeet nie. Oom Andries Erwee, wat die toer begelei, is iemand by wie jy baie leer en wat altyd daar vir jou sal wees. Dit is een van die lekkerste dinge wat jy kan ervaar! As enige Paul Roos-leerder wat nou in graad 10-12 is hierin belangstel, kan julle gerus met enige van die vier wat die toer hierdie jaar gedoen het, kom gesels.

Sakkie's Motivation:

Sometimes it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

Hey guys,

This term has been quite rough with Ms Stofberg leaving and all, but when we look back, I don’t want us to look at that: I want us to look at what we have accomplished. What YOU have accomplished.

Someone once said that when you replace, “why is this happening to me?” with “what is this trying to teach me?”, everything shifts. We might not be sure who said this, but whoever said it is very wise. Think about it: when you encounter an obstacle or you’re going through a rough patch, are you asking yourself, “why is this happening to me?” or “what can this teach me?” rate seeks to set new records, and South Africa loses close to R200 million a day. Which makes one wonder: if we did not need that money before, where was it previously wasted?

The economic impact is not the only negative consequence of ESKOM’s incompetence, as learners of all ages are affected. You can no longer study when it suits you, rather, you must study when ESKOM deems it appro- priate. Those last few hours at night when you need a revision session, forget about it – since it’s rather difficult to read your notes when all you see is a pool of darkness.

When all is said and done, at least ESKOM keeps us on our toes and forces us to be prepared for a load-shedding curveball at any moment. Paul Roos may prepare us for what lies ahead, but no institution can prepare us for the ever-changing

A lot of the times in life we blame things we can’t control, or we get mad when something doesn’t go our way. But, I’m here to tell you that from today on that behaviour stops. From today on you will use these obstacles and setbacks as stepping stones to reach your goal. Let’s take Ms Stofberg for example: Her leaving wasn’t something we wanted or could’ve controlled but things like this happen and this is when you have to ask yourself, “What is this trying to teach me?” I think this taught us all that we don’t fully value something until we have lost it, but it also taught us that you should use the opportunity to grow and move forward.

So, when you encounter an obstacle in life, don’t give up and feel sorry for yourself, stand up and see what you can learn from it.

-Sakkie