Cape Town - The DA has welcomed the decision by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana not to grant exemptions to Eskom from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and material losses from criminal conduct in its annual financial statements.
“The withdrawal was not a random act of conscientiousness, but a clear response to the steadfast pressure applied by his party that was bolstered by their threat to resort to legal measures should the exemption have been carried through,” DA MP Dion George said.
On Wednesday, Godongwana said he recognised the commitment of the Eskom board and management to fight and expose fraud and corruption, and the additional compliance and reporting burden facing Eskom and other state-owned entities (SOEs).
Godongwana also said the power utility needed to ensure that its anti-corruption strategy was credible and had the support of investors, lenders, suppliers, customers, and the public.
George said the National Treasury's reasoning for its initial stance that the SOEs were wrestling with technical impediments in compliance reporting remained questionable.
He noted that they had argued for a distinction between corrupt and suspicious transactions versus expenditures undertaken in good faith but failing to adhere to a multitude of financial and non-financial laws.
“This reasoning is akin to a magician's sly wink as he palms the coin – an attempt to add an illusory sheen of credibility to their actions.
“Such a stance obscures the real issues plaguing Eskom and other SOEs – corruption on an industrial scale, bad faith transactions, an overly centralised public sector, and systemic criminality,” he said.
George said the proposal that Eskom should be exempted from disclosing irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure in its annual financial statements undermined the South Africans’ faith in the National Treasury and the Minister of Finance and their role as custodians of public funds.
“It is well known that the SOEs have been grossly mismanaged. However, the Minister of Finance must devise more transparent and efficient mechanisms to rectify historical missteps,” he said.
“The withdrawal of the Public Finance Management Act exemption is but the first step.
“Government must also demonstrate authentic commitment to curbing corruption and maladministration, rather than disguising insufficient attempts as genuine action.
“This will require competent political will, strong governance, and decisive decision-making,” George added.
Cape Times