Responding to the news that the total amount of Eskom's bailout is in fact R150 billion: R23 billion over ten years, instead of R23 billion over three years as announced by Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni during his budget speech, Greenpeace Africa's Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Melita Steele has said:
 
"Misleading the public about the size of Eskom's bailout is absolutely unacceptable, as panic and frustration grows over Eskom’s crisis. The bottom line is that taxpayers are being asked to foot an exorbitant bill for Eskom’s corruption and incompetence for the next decade. Downplaying this in the budget speech erodes trust in both the Finance Minister, and the current administration.  
 
"It is clear that the scale of the crisis at Eskom is even larger than anyone wants to admit, and the question is: why is nobody facing charges for pushing Eskom to the brink of an abyss? Greenpeace calls on the government to visibly begin to take action on those who are responsible for Eskom’s meltdown, many of whom should be facing criminal charges. Lying to the public will not be tolerated, and neither will rewarding Eskom for relying on an outdated coal-based technology that continues to plunge South Africans into the dark.”

Issued by Greenpeace Africa