By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy President David Mabuza has assured members of parliament that there are no plans to privatise the national power utility, Eskom.
Mabuza said government’s policy options and positions have not reached the point where privatisation is seen as an answer to providing better solutions to the current problems that are facing Eskom.
Mabuza was responding to questions for oral reply in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Questions posed to the Deputy President by members of political parties represented in Parliament covered issues on Eskom, measures underway to curb illegal mining activities and the outcomes of the recent Communal Land Summit.
He said government is working around the clock to make Eskom a more efficient and effective energy generation and transmission public entity with the necessary capabilities to ensure the security and consistency of energy supply, in the interest of the economy and human development.
Instead, the Deputy President said the utility, which continues to battle capacity constraints, is currently in an advanced stage of the process of unbundling, which will result in the transformation of the electricity sector.
“It would be inaccurate to characterise the current organisational transformation happening within Eskom as privatisation or implied intention to facilitate it.”
Meanwhile, he said government does empathise with citizens as the country continues to face load shedding due to breakdowns of an ageing fleet and power plants.
He said the State was focusing on improving maintenance and repairs to ensure increased energy availability.
However, he assured Members of Parliament that plant maintenance and performance have nothing to do with privatisation or public ownership of the utility.
Eskom is currently undergoing the unbundling or legal separation into three subsidiary businesses namely generation, transmission and distribution.
According to the Deputy President, this exercise is designed to enable Eskom to manage and focus on improving efficiency, create greater transparency around performance and protection against corruption to realise the potential of an independent transmission system and market operator.
He also assured Parliamentarians that Eskom Holdings would have complete ownership of the new transmission entity.
“Its primary responsibilities will include acting as an independent broker in the electricity market and fostering capital investment within the industry and catalysing energy efficiency and costs.”
In the meantime, he said the country should continue to focus on getting Eskom back to its optimal performance, by ensuring that the entity has sound governance structures in place and required skills levels at all power plant levels.
He announced that the utility is on track to split its generation and distribution businesses by the end of 2022, as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the National Energy Plan.
“This will also fulfil the needs of the National Energy Plan to drive the economy, stimulate industrialisation efforts and ensure the security of electricity supply to housing. Therefore, privatising Eskom is not the answer,” he stressed.
He believes that the country is on track to get Eskom back into optimal performance by ensuring that the entity’s sound governance structure is in place and the required skills are met at the power plant.
“We should take this opportunity to reassure every South African that will continue to work hard to ensure that they have access to reliable electricity so that they can realise their needs and the development of hopes and dreams that we have set ourselves as a nation.
Mabuza sidestepped a question on whether he agreed with Ramaphosa that the State Capture Commission’s findings were not binding on government.
He said that as leader of government business, he had previously “affirmed the centrality of this institution” to hold the executive accountable.
Mabuza said Cabinet members were individually and collectively accountable to the National Assembly, and it was their constitutional duty to assist the House to process the State Capture Commission’s report.
He said, as deputy president, he didn’t have the power to discipline members of the executive implicated in the report, but Ramaphosa did.
“The National Assembly can be assured of the full commitment of the executive under the leadership of the President in the processing of the findings of the State Capture Commission,” Mabuza said.
Among Commission’s scathing findings against the ANC was that its policy of cadre deployment contributed to state capture and that it was unconstitutional and unlawful.
Weeks before the final report was published, the DA approached the High Court to ask that the policy be declared unconstitutional and unlawful.
In his responding affidavit, in his capacity as the president of the country rather than the ANC, Ramaphosa argued that the recommendations weren’t binding, but were there to “assist [him], as president of the country, with the issues at the heart of this investigation”.
He did, however, state that he took the commission seriously.
Asking her follow-up question to Mabuza, DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said there now seemed to be uncertainty about the status of the commission’s report and its findings.
“The president asserts that none of the findings of this commission is, in fact, binding on government, a sentiment which seems to have extended to parliament, judging by the presiding officers’ reluctance to act speedily against those who have been implicated in the report,” she said.
She said this was concerning because the commission’s work spanned years and cost more than R1 billion.
“Do you agree with the president that the commission’s findings are not binding and could simply be ignored?” Gwarube asked.
Mabuza responded that Ramaphosa would come to the House and present a report on “how he is going to handle the recommendations of the commission”.
“It is in that space and time that the president will explain himself, to say: ‘To this recommendation, I don’t think I am obliged to respond’, and give reasons,” said Mabuza.
Watch Live: David Mabuza answers questions from MPs.
Video Courtesy of Parliament.