Agbare Speaker,
Eskom wat krag moet voorsien en as ‘n winsgewende staatsentiteit moet funksioneer het hul mandaat in die staatskaping tydperk verloor. Die impak hiervan is veral negatief op besighede, veiligheidsdienste, landboudienste en gesondheidsdienste. Alle staatsdepartemente wat dienste moet verskaf aan
gemeenskappe moet nou beurtkrag onkostes in hul begroting inwerk.
Die regerende party, die ANC, moet volle verantwoordelikheid neem vir die swak ekonomiese groei, hoë werkloosheidsyfer en die onderverhaling van inkomste by SARS en munisipaliteite.
Ouditeur verslae bevestig dat Eskom se senior bestuur gedurende die staatskaping tydperk nie die finansieële riglyne van goeie bestuur en tender regulasies gevolg het nie. Van die groot insinkings was die afskaffing van onderhoudsprogramme by sekere kragstasies en die vermindering van ingeneurs. Eskom se pogings om intern persone verantwoordelik te hou het nog nie resultate gelewer nie.
Die nie-betaal kultuur wat die ANC in sekere munisipaliteite en staatsdepartemente geskep het, moet ernstig aangespreuk word.
Speaker, die Demokratiese Alliansie (DA) sê almal moet dieselfde behandel word. Dus moet ons die groeiende kultuur van nie-betaling ontmoedig.
Die gebruik van alternatiewe energie behalwe steenkool moet versnel word. Die DA beheerde Stad Kaapstad het bewys dat tydens fase een beurtkrag die inwoners se ongerief tydens beurtkrag verminder kan word.
Speaker the Appropriations Committee, during its oversight visit to Megawatt Park last week, experienced load shedding whilst engaging with Eskom senior management. Some of the root causes for Eskom’s decline which emerged, include the following:
1. Conflicts of interest was not managed effectively;
2. No consequence management;
3. National Treasury instructions were interpreted as too complex;
4. Defects at the newly built plants;
5. Procedures and legal requirements misinterpreted or ignored;
6. Procurement tender adjudication regulations;
7. Ill-discipline by employees;
8. Irregular spending in terms of Public Financial Management Act;
9. Insufficient training;
10. A Board that was unable to carry out its mandate due to lack of skills and lack of adequate oversight over the administration; and,
11. Building power stations far from the coal mines led to an increase in transport costs.
The Standing Committee on Appropriations must review the time frame in which money is allocated to state-owned entities (SOEs) to allow for amendments by any party, a department, the Minister, the public and public institutions.
The amendments proposed by the DA were included in the committee report. However, the time was too short to get DA amendments included into the bill. As a result, the Bill states that Ministers ‘may’ impose conditions before transferring the money. The DA is of the view that in order to receive a bailout, Eskom must first abide by ministerial conditions or else it will be nothing more than a ‘blank
cheque bill’.
The Appropriations Committee will monitor and do oversight together with the responsible standing committees over this bailout. We must and will turn Eskom around and reduce its financial burden on the public.
The Eskom Board and management must be held accountable for the R59 billion