Pretoria - Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has welcomed Eskom’s decision to launch an independent inquiry into the way it conducts business.
The Minister said as the shareholder representative, she is concerned about the instability at power plants; the financial liquidity of the utility; the lack of credible information; the unreliable supply of electricity and its dire impact on the economy.
She also expressed concern at progress with the build programme; overruns at Medupi and Kusile; delays of the investigation into incidents at Majuba and Duvha and the issue of coal and diesel pricing.
“I welcome the board’s decision to launch a comprehensive and holistic audit into the matters as highlighted,” said the Minister on Thursday afternoon.
The Minister’s comments come as board chairperson Zola Tsotsi announced that the utility will commission an independent inquiry.
“The Eskom board has today resolved to commission an independent inquiry on the current state of the business and its challenges. We have deemed it prudent to seek an independent view of the status of, among other things, the poor performance of generation plants,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.
Minister Brown addressed the Eskom board on Wednesday, where she shared her concerns, fears and frustration about the state of affairs at the state owned company.
“In my view, it should be deeper than a mere fact finding exercise and it should be a deep-dive into the company to tell us what is wrong and how it should be fixed,” she said.
The Minister said since the start of load shedding, she has been inundated with complaints from the public and business about the reliability of the grid and its impact on the economy and the lives of ordinary citizens.
“I have been assured that the audit investigation would not take longer than three months and that it is not directed at any particular individual or group but that it merely seeks to ensure that the current challenges faced by the utility are addressed,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
