En hiers die antwoord op die black outs in Suid-Afrika ! Eskom Directors must pay back R31 million in bonuses Natasha Michael, Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises 7 March 2014 The DA will today demand that the R31 million in bonuses awarded to Eskom’s Directors are returned to Treasury immediately so that it can be used to purchase generators for emergency services such as hospitals affected by the rolling blackouts. According to Eskom’s Annual Financial Statements, last year, 9 members of Eskom’s Board of Directors received approximately R17 million in vested ‘performance shares’ and R14 million in 2012, namely: CEO, Mr Brian Dames; PS O’Flaherty; BE Bulunga; T Govender; EL Johnson; SJ Lennon; DL Marokane; A Noah; and MM Ntsokolo Given the unacceptable power crisis we currently find ourselves in, and the reasons for South Africa still experiencing rolling blackouts six years after the last period of rolling blackouts, they neither deserve nor can they reasonably justify awarding themselves bonuses for good performance. When board members are unable to deliver on their mandate, they should get warning letters, not bonuses. The deadline for the Medupi project has been shifted three times due to Eskom’s mismanagement and subsequently pushed the cost of the venture from R91.2 to R105 billion, excluding other costs such as owners development and interest costs. Furthermore, electricity prices have soared under this board’s directorship. Last year South African households were forced to pay up to 8% more for electricity. This would have been 16% if the National Energy Regulator of South Africa had not intervened. They have quite simply raised prices and let South Africa down. Indeed, rolling blackouts will have a disastrous impact on our economy, especially small businesses, and will inevitably result in job losses and lower economic growth in the future. South Africans are rightly furious with Eskom rewarding itself when numerous delays in the construction of the Medupi Power Station, which has resulted in the project being significantly over-budget, has left our grid without the necessary capacity to deal with external challenges such as heavy rains. Eskom continues to drag its feet in handing over the contracts for the Medupi Power Station, despite my application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). Access to these documents would allow Parliament to study the terms of agreement with contractors, such as the ANC-linked Hitatchi Africa, and call for proper enforcement of the contract to ensure the delivery of this new power-station on time, and on budget. It is both shameful and unforgiveable that six years after our last energy crisis we are back to square one. There must be accountability for this monumental failure that has let South Africa down.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 08:55:22 +0000