Pravin Gordhan should account for Eskom’s diesel expenditure before he departs

29 April 2024

The inefficiency of blowing nearly R45 Billion on diesel over the past two years (up to end-March 2024) to mitigate the impact of regular electricity black-outs has the same effect on the well-being of the citizens as state capture.

It takes money that could be spent alleviating the suffering of millions of South Africans and pours it into a bottomless hole (whereas state capture poured it into politically connected pockets).

Pouring increasing quantities of expensive diesel at a problem that began 16 years ago – instead of fixing the problem – is indicative of a State that is bereft of ideas, knowledge, skills and determination.

The skills and integrity deficit that have become Eskom’s hallmark are arguably among the primary reasons for the failure of South Africa’s economy to recover from the 2008 global recession.

The GOOD Party calls on outgoing Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to take the nation into his confidence about the failure to stabilise Eskom in his five-year term. Gordhan entered his post in a blaze of publicity promising ethical leadership to fix Eskom and stop its haemorrhaging of public money.

The expenditure of the R45 Billion on diesel coincided with a period in which millions of South Africans were suffering the effects of joblessness and poverty.

It also coincided with a period in which South Africa’s middle-class and business sector have collectively taken a power station’s worth of pressure off Eskom by installing solar panels – largely at their own expense. 

If there are no South Africans with the expertise to sustainably maintain the fleet of coal-fired power stations available to do the work, the country must procure the necessary expertise overseas. With Billions of Rands to burn on diesel, the cost of procuring this expertise shouldn’t be a factor.

South Africa needs electricity generated by its power stations – not by diesel – as it makes the transition to renewable energy.

The incoming government, after the 29 May election, must stop debating the energy mix – and personal preferences for coal, or gas or nuclear – and take unequivocal steps to shift the country from its total dependence on fossil fuels and killer carbon emissions.

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament, 29 April 2024