Corruption, sabotage continue to cripple Eskom, says Gordhan
Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan says Eskom continues to battle sabotage and corruption as it struggles to keep the lights on.
Gordhan tabled the department’s budget in Parliament on Friday.
The department has been allocated a budget of R23.9 billion for the 2022/23 financial year.
A total of R21.9 billion has been set aside for Eskom while R1.7 billion has been earmarked for cash-strapped SAA.
Gordhan told MP’s that acts of sabotage continues to be a problem at Eskom.
Corruption in the procurement of coal also remains an issue.
“Poor coal quality, which is often caused by syndicated coal delivery, is causing major damage to plants. Eskom is seeking collaboration with the coal mining industry to solve this problem.
“Several syndicates are involved in delivery of coal, oil, and other supplies, including spares. Measures are being taken to identify the insiders enabling syndicates to gain access. Measures are also being taken to eliminate overpricing and other malpractices," added Gordhan.
He assured MPs that station managers and contractors will be held accountable.
“Eskom is taking urgent steps to improve the performance of generation. Daily production and oversight meetings are held to hold power station management accountable for performance. An operations excellence initiative is also in place which to identify the major causes of underperformance and to make improvements. At selected power stations war rooms will be set up to ensure that production challenges get tackled in a systematic way.”
ALSO READ
