Today, the DA will write to the Ministers of Public Enterprises, Ms Lynne Brown, Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene and acting Eskom CEO, Colin Matjila, requesting that all documents relating to government’s bailout plan for embattled state entity, Eskom, be tabled in Parliament.
This follows yesterday’s announcement that Cabinet has approved a package to close the funding gap at Eskom, following the recommendations of government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee which reviewed options for rescuing the state entity.
The funding gap is reportedly to be covered by increases in tariffs, the sell-off of minor assets and government backing a for a number of significant loans through a “guarantee facility”.
It is disappointing that, given Eskom’s strategic importance to economic growth, discussions around how best to address Eskom’s deplorable financial position and its ailing power capacity have been shrouded in mystery – often with conflicting reports around the threat of higher tariffs for consumers.
Reports suggest that businesses and consumers are to carry a large portion of the load through increased electricity tariffs.
We need absolute clarity on these tariff increases, the process followed in making this decision and the proportion of the debt to be absorbed directly by tax payers through increased tariffs.
The final decisions relating to how to best capacitate Eskom and ensuring it functions as a vehicle for economic growth cannot be left to clock-and-dagger Inter-Ministerial Committee meetings. Full details relating to government’s proposed plan must be placed on the public record before Parliament for full deliberation and public scrutiny.
Particularly, government must take the South African people into its confidence and provide details as to -
- What recapitalisation models were considered by the committee;
- What impact assessment was made as to the merits of each plan; and
- Provide full details relating to the committee’s elected model as well as cogent reasons for their election.
The DA and the public look forward to the government’s response.
Issued by the DA