South Africa: Select Committee On Mineral Resources Raises Concerns Over Eskom's Municipal Debt Crisis

11 April 2025
Parliament of South Africa (Cape Town)
press release

The Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Mineral Resources received briefings yesterday from the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) and Eskom on their audit outcomes and performance in the 2024/25 financial year.

The committee commended NECSA for improvement in its audit outcomes from a disclaimed position to clean audits. On operations, the committee told the entity that there should be a dedicated session for that report on the entity's work and plans, as there was not enough time for that yesterday.

Regarding Eskom, the committee acknowledged progress made in stabilising operations and reducing load-shedding. However, it expressed concerns over persistent challenges that included the escalating municipal debt crisis, which has crippled the utility's financial sustainability.

Other issues raised relating to Eskom included continued problems with fraud, corruption and criminality in spite of efforts to strengthen internal controls and consequence management. The committee raised questions about delays in the legal separation and unbundling of Eskom's entities, as well as the utility's environmental compliance challenges, including with emissions standards. The committee stressed the need for the power utility to be more transparent and provide regular updates on its turnaround efforts.

The Deputy Minister for the Department of Electricity and Energy, Ms Samantha Jane Graham-Mare, informed the committee that there is a plan to establish a joint task team that will include National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to develop a customised interventions to address the municipal debt crisis.

The committee told both entities that it will continue to monitor their performance closely and engage with their political principals to ensure accountability. Furthermore, the committee highlighted the need for the department and its entities to improve their responsiveness and transparency and to provide the required information to the committee when that is due.

Read the original article on Parliament of South Africa.

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