Call for Eskom probe rejected

THE Department of Public Enterprises has dismissed calls by Cosatu to dissolve the Eskom board and probe it for alleged wasteful expenditure.

The union federation said on Tuesday that myriad administrative and governance issues, including a cash crisis at the power utility, as reported by the Sunday Times at the weekend, made a mockery of the ANC’s commitment that it would ensure state-owned enterprises were powerful instruments of economic transformation.

However, Department of Public Enterprises spokesman Colin Cruywagen accused Cosatu of not being “truthful” in its assertion, saying Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown had recently “rotated” the Eskom board, appointing four new members and, “in the interest of continuity”, keeping three from the previous board.

In a statement on Tuesday, Cosatu spokesman Sizwe Pamla said it wanted answers regarding the finding of audit firm KPMG that Eskom paid an inflated advance of R600-million to Chinese firm Dongfang to provide a new boiler at Duvha power station in Mpumalanga. — BDLive