Minister Brown can and must stop bonuses to ineffective Eskom executives

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, has the power to stop the handover of millions of public money to Eskom executives who have utterly failed, and in some cases, are the cause of the dire financial situation at the power utility.

The DA publically calls on Minister Brown to reject the request to approve short term bonuses of R5.5 million for three former and current executives, which forms part of an R13 million payment for top executives: R2.1 million for former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, R1.5 million for suspended acting CEO, Matshela Koko, and R1.9 million for CFO, Anoj Singh.

The fact is that Eskom may not be able to pay salaries to its 49 000 employees come November. According to reports, its income decreased from R5.3 billion last year to R900 million in June, while the interest it accrued on its debt jumped to R38 billion from R31 billion.

Clearly, Eskom finances are in a shambles. The true state of Eskom's financial situation is markedly different from the picture of excellence painted by Mr Ben Ngubane when he and the board appeared before the portfolio committee on public enterprises less than two months ago.

It is utterly unacceptable for executive bonuses to be paid while ordinary employees may not be paid.

Only good performance should be rewarded, yet Eskom is clearly intent on doing the opposite.

The DA will not allow public money to be squandered on ineffective executives while the livelihoods of ordinary employees are put at risk.

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 16 July 2017