Does Eskom bailout accounting flatter to deceive?
The debate over the way the utility’s R254bn debt package has been accounted for in the 2023 budget raises questions about the health of South Africa’s public finances and whether the public is being shown the full picture
16 March 2023 - 05:00
A debate is raging between the National Treasury and a number of economists over the treatment of the R254bn Eskom debt relief package in the 2023 budget and whether it masks South Africa’s true fiscal position.
The Treasury’s detractors say the new approach of classifying cash payments to Eskom not as an above-the-line expenditure item but as a below-the-line debt redemption departs from good accounting practice, renders the bailout invisible in terms of the deficit, and consequently flatters the fiscal consolidation apparent in the budget...
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