Public must take a stand against continued attempt to exempt Eskom from scrutiny

Media release: Premier urges public to take a stand against continued attempt to exempt Eskom from financial scrutiny

Premier Alan Winde is demanding clarity from Eskom and national government on their insistence to push ahead with the exemption of Eskom from the Public Finance Management Act. This would see it not disclosing its irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure in its annual financial statements for the last financial year and the next two years.

Following a massive outcry over the move, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana withdrew the exemption on 5 April, apparently to allow for further consultation.

“It appears the Minister is now trying to sneak this outrageous exemption through the back door by gazetting a public participation process. This was always an attempt to hide maladministration and corruption to secure more funding to deal with the power utility’s growing debt. This flies in the face of good governance and cannot be allowed.”

The Premier urges South Africans to make their views once again known through the public participation process, which ends on 21 April, that we will not tolerate this deception. The Western Cape Government (WCG) will also be reviewing the request for comment process and will add its voice to express its deep concern.

He reiterates, “Our citizens deserve full transparency and have a right to know what is going on at Eskom given the worsening blackouts. We as the provincial government will keep our eye on this issue to ensure the state-owned entity continues to be held to account when spending taxpayers’ money. South Africa deserves real commitment to dealing with corruption and maladministration. This requires good governance, strong leadership, and tough decision-making.”

Premier Winde also noted the appointment of Mr Bheki Nxumalo as Group Executive Generation at Eskom. He continued, “I hope Mr Nxumalo can make a meaningful and lasting impact at the power utility. I look forward to working with him. We must ensure that rather than more plans being placed on the table and further policy confusion, action that puts megawatts on the grid must be prioritised.”

Submissions can be made at: OAGqueries@treasury.gov.za. Submissions close on Friday, 21 April.