A proposal by South Africa’s biggest labor-union federation to rescue debt-stricken Eskom Holdings with government workers’ pensions would amount to little more than a shifting of contingent liabilities, according to BNP Paribas South Africa. The Congress of South African Trade Unions’ proposal that state institutions including the Public Investment Corporation take over R254-billion of Eskom’s R454-billion debt pile is a concern because the government will still bear ultimate responsibility, said Jeffrey Schultz, a senior economist at the lender.
