‘Bold steps’ needed to save Eskom, Jabu Mabuza says, as more load-shedding looms
Mabuza says the way in which the company is operating now ‘is not sustainable’
Eskom, which is facing dire financial woes, has seen a steady decline in plant performance and coal supply, which could threaten its ability to keep the lights on, chair Jabu Mabuza said on Wednesday. Mabuza said at the release of the state-owned power producer's 2018-2019 interim results that the way the company was operating now “is not sustainable”. Profit dropped 89% to R671m in the six months to September, from R6.3bn in the previous year. Finance costs rose to R15.2bn rand from R11.9bn. “We are locked in a permanent loss-making position,” he said. “We need bold steps to save Eskom … someone has to pay for the problems that Eskom finds it’s self in — there is no option of not fixing — and fixing will cause some pain.” Mabuza said they were engaging stakeholders to find financial alignment, with the aim of about R30bn in savings over the next five years. He also confirmed the permanent appointment of Calib Cassim as CFO. The interim results showed that most financial ratios dete...
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