MPs shoot down request for ad hoc committee on Eskom corruption
The National Assembly has rejected a proposal by the DA to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate damning allegations of corruption and criminal cartels calling the shots at Eskom.
Party leader John Steenhuisen's draft resolution comes after former CEO André de Ruyter's explosive claims of sabotage in a television interview.
But MPs who voted against the resolution referred to the president's appointment of an electricity minister as an adequate measure to deal with issues at the utility.
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Meanwhile, new Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom is working to stabilise the situation at its power stations.
Over the next two weeks, he plans on visiting all 14 power stations and will meet with management, workers, and unions.
Speaking at the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State on Thursday, Ramokgopa said he understands that South Africans need certainty.
"To oscillate from stage 1 to stage 6, the gap there talks to the unreliability of the system. The number of trips that we have requires attention.
"On a daily basis, the report that was done on the 18th and 19th - the situation appears to have gotten worse. We were experiencing about six trips a day, essentially taking out 3 600 megawatts.
"On average, a trip will take out 600 megawatts because that is the general average installed capacity per unit. So that is the problem that we have and it takes them 48 hours on average to come back."
