July 2014 | Page 58

partinform | by Howard Keeg Partinform Lights up Ellisras The guys who oil the wheels of the gravy train …………. ➲ Marius Barnard and Rhode Barnard from Aveng Grinaker LTA View Partinform video on www.abrbuzz.co.za It was with a sense of irony ➲ William Hockly that I took notice of the and Chirsham Thomas from Masshire generators starting up at the Mogol Club in Ellisras, on a relatively warm evening on 18th June 2014. Or should that be Lephalale, the name by which Ellisras now goes? Originally named as Ellisras after the original farm owners, Patrick Ellis and Piet Erasmus, the town was renamed as Lephalale by the provincial government of Limpopo in 2002. T he generators had come on because of a dodgy power supply, and as the Partinform trade show was about to begin power was needed for the function to continue as planned, and for its purpose to be fulfilled. My sense of irony came about from the fact that Lephalale is the site for the Medupi Power Station, a new dry-cooled coal-fired power station being built by Eskom. Medupi is a Sepedi word for “the rain that soaks parched lands”, but with the considerable delays in commissioning this power station and the numerous rumours of financial impropriety I think that Medupi actually means “the place of many backhanders”. ➲ Chris van der Westhuizen and Brent van der Linde from Exxaro ➲ You have the right to repair! ➲ The Partinform ladies | words in action 56 july 2014