Eskom board member Busisiwe Mavuso says the utility’s board has experienced intense political pressure over the past year to keep the lights on irrespective of the cost.
Mavuso told a parliamentary committee this week that board members were between a rock and a hard place in terms of some of decisions imposed by an interfering ‘shareholder’.
Mavuso did not name the ‘shareholder’, but it is undoubtedly Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
‘There are decisions that we know we have to be making as this board, but the shareholder quickly comes in and says that you can’t do that because it is politically inconvenient,’ she said.
The Eskom board was appearing before parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations to talk about challenges facing the power utility. She declared at the outset that she wanted to be candid and have an honest conversation ‘so that we don’t sit here trying to manage each other’.
‘I think we’ve got to be honest about the issue of the municipal debt and say that we all know the issue of municipal debt is a political decision. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the Eskom.
‘I think therefore if we were given the latitude to actually make decisions without political interference as this board, I would tell you what we would do: I would actually go to South Africans and say honestly, we need to load-shed at least for the next eight months.’
Mavuso added: ‘I am saying that, understanding that load-shedding for one day in this country costs R2bn.’
Fifty-year-old units had not been maintained in 10 years, but, according to Mavuso, decisions were taken at the cost of maintaining plant. Elections appeared to have always gotten in the way.
On recapitalisation, Mavuso said strategic equity partners should be brought in.