Eskom culprits to be held liable, says Pravin Gordhan
The public enterprises minister says President Cyril Ramaphosa will make an announcement on Thursday aimed at reassuring investors
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan on Wednesday told parliament’s public enterprises committee that he intends to hold accountable those responsible for the raft of problems emerging at Eskom’s mega-power stations Medupi and Kusile. The coal-fired power stations, which are still under construction, were intended to alleviate SA’s tight electricity supply system. But cost and time overruns and design and technical problems mean that only four of 12 units have been completed, which operate at about 40% to 50% efficiency. Eskom’s problems weakened interest in SA government bonds and the rand on Wednesday, with the yield on the benchmark government bond due in December 2026 weakening to a three-week low. Despite risk-on trade, the rand was the worst-performing emerging-market currency. President Cyril Ramaphosa would make an announcement on Thursday aimed at reassuring investors, Gordhan said. Eskom supplies more than 95% of the country’s electricity. With debt of more than R400...
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