Gordhan calls for people who damaged Eskom in the past 10 years to be held to account

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has said it is important for the country to hold to account the board members and persons who occupied management positions at Eskom in the past 10 years who damaged the power utility.

Gordhan was on Thursday giving opening remarks on a webinar titled “Independent Transmission System & Market Operator in SA”.

The minister said it was important to consider Eskom related testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo “as we peel away the onion of state capture”.

Gordhan said former board members and management officials of the past 10 years had easily gotten away “with narratives which essentially say I did not know or I didn’t do anything”, adding that these “elements must be held to account” for the damage they have done at Eskom which now has to be undone by the entity’s incumbent chief executive officer André de Ruyter and his team, who are rebuilding the critical parts of the power utility.

In a post-Covid-19 South African economy, reliable energy will be very important and will play a critical role, Gordhan said.

In the next five years, the government will be required to move to ensure there is an abundant and reliable supply of electricity, Gordhan said, adding that in the short term, Eskom is driving that in the generation sector.

Gordhan said it was also important to ensure that electricity is appropriately priced, a price which should be of the real cost of electricity and exclude the cost of state capture.

Another question that needs to be answered is whether in South Africa is energy used efficiently, Gordhan said.

The minister said it was important to place Eskom on a reliable and sustainable footing as an entity, considering its massive debt burden of R480 billion.

Various propositions are being considered with regards to the entity’s huge debt and hopefully, these will be concluded soon, Gordhan said.

It was also time to execute the transition from coal to clean technology, renewables, in South Africa, Gordhan said, adding that the country had made a good start in this regard but that in the last few years this was halted and there was a need now to pick up the momentum.

It was also important to look at the impact this transition will have on workers and communities across the country over the next 10 to 15 years, Gordhan said.

The minister said investors will also have to participate in creating the necessary conditions and providing the required resources for this transition.

The process of restructuring Eskom into three subsidiaries – generation, transmission and distribution – needs to take place, Gordhan said, adding that for South Africa, an independent transmission system is a critical factor.

The minister said the department is committed to ensuring there is competition within the generation sector, with independent power producers, in relation to renewables, expected to “make a contribution over time to creating a dynamic generation sector”.

With regards to restructuring, Gordhan said there were lessons to be learned from a country like Vietnam and the American state of California.

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