social movement

The World Bank hits back at critics, saying that poverty could not be reduced without the availability of electricity.

The bank argues that there can be no poverty reduction without power and that sustainable development cannot be achieved without addressing climate change. It is of the view that the Eskom project is helping to get this balance right.

The World Bank came under fire last week from environmentalists and opposition parties for granting a controversial 3.75 billion loan to Eskom for its new-build programme.

Meanwhile, social movement, Jubilee South Africa, alleges that the granting of the loan to Eskom will bestow economic and environmental problems on the country. It says argues that the loan was based on an intensification of coal-fired power, adding that, “This requires the expansion of coal mining, entailing the further dispossession of people from their land.”

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