Cape Town - South Africans have reason to breathe a sigh of relief when they have successfully pushed back against what appeared to be an attempt to cover up Eskom’s financial shortcomings.
Had it not been for the outrage of South Africans, Eskom would have been partially exempt from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in its 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 annual financial statements.
This would have been a travesty of our constitutional democracy, which is underpinned by transparency, especially at Eskom where malfeasance has threatened to collapse South Africa’s economy.
Eskom has recently been allocated R254billion in debt relief, consisting of R78billion for the 2023/24 financial year; R66billion for the 2024/25 financial year; and R40billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
Therefore, its finances – no matter how bad – should be out for all to see.
It would have been unimaginable for it to escape with no scrutiny, especially when billions of rand in public money has been used to save Eskom.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana himself agrees Eskom first needs to get its house in order and ensure that its anti-corruption strategy is credible and has the support of key stakeholders such as investors, lenders, suppliers, customers, and the public.
No matter the reasoning, for Eskom to even attempt to secure exemption from disclosing fruitless and wasteful expenditure shows its board and management are still out of touch with reality.
As economist, Professor Bonke Dumisa puts it: “If ever you had that going on and not subjected that entity to all the checks and balances, people could think it may have promoted and encouraged all this wrongdoing.”
Thankfully, the audit firms, professional auditing and accounting bodies, a rating agency, and other relevant authorities that the Treasury consulted were able to demonstrate how this could destroy the little trust that is left in the government and Eskom.
Without sounding like applauding a fish for swimming, it’s encouraging that Godongwana was able to read the public mood and decline the request.
It’s something that has become foreign in the corridors of government offices.
Cape Times