EFF statement on the decision of the Minister of Finance to exempt Eskom from disclosing irregular expenditure

2 April 2023

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) vehemently condemns and reject the irrational, reckless and deplorable decision by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to exempt Eskom from publishing details of irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure that occurred during the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 in their annual reports.

Eskom is encountered with extreme levels of corruption, which according to its recently ousted Chief Executive Officer involves senior ANC members of the Executive and criminal cartels whose primary interests are to steal billions of Rands meant for the stabilisation of Eskom and electricity supply in South Africa. A decision to exempt an institution that is mired in corruption is therefore irrational and irresponsible because such a move will deepen and worsen the levels of corruption that define Eskom.

We are appalled by this desperate and sickening attempt by the governing party, the ANC, to hide the rampant corruption at Eskom that has plunged our country into avoidable electricity blackouts. The Minister of Finance and the National Treasury are now operating like a mafia, casting a dark shadow over our democracy and the transparency it requires.

What is truly shocking is the Minister's decision to exempt Eskom from disclosing future irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure for the next two financial years. This opens the door for the ANC to exploit the state of disaster and loot state resources. With the delinquent and corrupt Cyril Ramaphosa at the helm of the state and his vested interests in the coal and renewable energy sector, it is almost certain that industrial looting at Eskom will continue unabated.

The National Treasury's era of unaccountability and operating like a super ministry that answers to no one will come to an end. The EFF will ensure that this culture of impunity is dismantled and replaced with a system that upholds the principles of transparency and good governance.

The EFF will not stand idly by while corruption festers. We will write to the Chairpersons of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF), and the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises to seek permission from the Speaker of the National Assembly to convene an urgent joint meeting to receive a detailed report explaining the rationale behind such a nonsensical decision.

We are utterly shocked and displeased by the brazen arrogance of the Minister of Finance, who, by making this decision, undermines the pillars of transparency and accountability that our democracy is built upon.

The crises in ESKOM are not due to PFMA, but rather a confused policy direction that refuses to accept that, as things stand, baseload electricity cannot be provided by the intermittent independent power producers and is worsened by deep levels of corruption that involve members and senior leaders of the ANC. We, as the EFF, will subject this irrational decision to judicial review and will approach South Africa's courts to declare the exemption as irrational.

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 3 April 2023