National Treasury says it really can’t help Eskom buy diesel

South Africa’s Treasury has stated that it will not be able to assist Eskom with the funds it needs to buy more diesel as it would upset the already “well-informed allocation of the country’s scarce financial resources”.

The statement came after it was reported that Eskom had approached Treasury for R19.5 billion to buy diesel to fuel auxiliary power plants.

But the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has declined the request.

There’s just no money for that

“The National Treasury notes the recent public interest and media queries requesting clarity about any discussions to assist Eskom with the purchase of diesel.

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“The staggered nature of the budget process, which allows for the necessary legislative and executive oversight as well as for well-informed planning about how to allocate the country’s scarce financial resources, makes it difficult to consider and accommodate any ad hoc funding requests outside of this process, especially large requests that are made at short notice,” the statement read.

Godongwana explained that the budget process allows for government departments and state-owned entities to follow a set process to submit their funding requests to be considered for inclusion in the budget, which is then approved by parliament.

“Eskom did not apply for funding through the budget process and Eskom management should therefore take all necessary steps to ensure they secure the diesel needed to avert severe load shedding,” the statement continued.

Treasury to engage with Public Enterprises

It did, however, acknowledge the problem Eskom has found itself in and said that it will set out to engage with the Department of Public Enterprises to try identify a solution.

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“The National Treasury and the Minister of Finance are acutely aware of the impact that Eskom’s diesel shortages may have on already severe levels of load shedding. For that reason, the National Treasury will continue with the engagements with the Department of Public Enterprises and Eskom aimed at identifying solutions to this matter,” the statement read.

The country is currently experiencing stage 6 load shedding, where citizens have been experiencing more than 6 hours without power a day.