Eskom, the South African energy giant, has officially launched a substantial tender, dedicating significant financial resources to the creation of a new corporate identity. The initiative aims to reflect Eskom's restructured organization, now consisting of three distinct subsidiaries: Generation, Transmission, and Distribution.
Eskom has invited agencies to participate in the process of conceiving, designing, and implementing the new corporate identity for the following entities:
- National Transmission Company of South Africa
- National Distribution Company of South Africa
- Potential Eskom NewCo
- Any prospective Eskom Group companies
Although specific cost figures have not been revealed, Eskom has urged participating agencies to work within a presumed budget of R5 million for each of the mentioned entities as part of their proposals.
This ambitious tender encompasses a wide array of requirements, including the development of diverse printed and digital assets, marketing materials, and online resources.
It's important to recognize that the expense associated with designing and executing a new logo and corporate identity is just the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive rebranding effort necessitates updates to physical structures, digital assets, printed materials, and more, incurring substantial costs.
Critics, such as Ghaleb Cachalia, the DA's public enterprises spokesperson, have voiced strong objections to Eskom's decision, particularly in light of the utility's challenging financial circumstances. Cachalia emphasized that Eskom has faced financial instability and relied on taxpayer-funded bailouts, with the most recent being the government's takeover of R254 billion in Eskom debt. This move has further exacerbated the country's already precarious debt situation.
In this context, Cachalia finds it perplexing that Eskom has chosen to prioritize a logo change when it is essentially operating on taxpayer funds. He describes the rebranding effort as an entirely unnecessary vanity project that does little to address South Africa's ongoing load-shedding crisis.
With consumers struggling to meet their electricity bills due to a 31.4% tariff increase imposed by Eskom over two years, the decision to allocate funds for a new corporate logo has raised significant concerns. Cachalia has called on the acting Eskom CEO, Calib Cassim, to reconsider this tender, characterizing it as frivolous spending.
Cachalia also stressed the urgency of focusing on measures to increase generation capacity and permanently eliminate load-shedding, rather than diverting resources toward enhancing Eskom's image. He believes that the millions allocated for the logo and rebranding contract could be put to more worthwhile use elsewhere.
