Enoch Godongwana’s finance ministry plays its biggest card yet on Eskom

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Thu 23 Feb   Earlier this week, I suggested that we wouldn’t be surprised by any moves by the treasury to make a significant enough dent on Eskom and, in turn, the country’s suffocating debt position. I am glad to say that I was wrong. With its debt burden of about R400 billion that comes with huge debt repayments, Eskom found itself with no leg-room to buy diesel for emergency power generation and to properly maintain its crumbling infrastructure. Something had to give and unfortunately our debt levels as a country will be negatively affected. There was no dodging this bullet, especially with a teetering energy grid. With the government taking on R254 billion of Eskom debt, what is going to be critical is the choice of executive team to take over from the outgoing and clearly “gatvol” Andre de Ruyter in March. It’s clear that the company needs a team of executives and not a lone ranger chief executive to take on the problems at Megawatt Park and we (the country’s citizenry) will all have to have faith in this team. If not, this enforced gamble will be a bridge too far for Eskom and to the hopes of ever having a secure energy future. For this alone, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech was hugely important. In undertaking this, I hope the treasury has done some homework about the people about to come into Eskom headquarters in the weeks and months ahead. We best hope so. Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief [@RonDerby]( [Eskom’s Andre De Ruyter leaves with immediate effect after damning television interview about ANC corruption]( With the country in its 115th day of load-shedding, De Ruyter leaves with immediate effect after accusing the ANC of seeing Eskom as a “eating trough” in an explosive interview Join thousands of South Africans who want a more just South Africa. Read past party lines, past the bluster and the distortion. Get the best reporting, analysis and commentary that is factual, balanced and fair with uninterrupted access to all Mail & Guardian content online. Plus - Preferential access to Mail & Guardian events - Get daily conversation starters straight into your inbox - An invitation to join the newsroom’s Review session on Friday mornings - Lend your expertise and experience to the stories we tell [// Read more]( Articles labelled as Premium are only available to subscribers. [CLICK HERE]( to subscribe Already a subscriber? [SIGN IN HERE]( [Eskom to get a R254 billion lifeline]( The debt relief amounts to almost as much as the power utility has received in bailouts since 2008 Join thousands of South Africans who want a more just South Africa. Read past party lines, past the bluster and the distortion. 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Plus - Preferential access to Mail & Guardian events - Get daily conversation starters straight into your inbox - An invitation to join the newsroom’s Review session on Friday mornings - Lend your expertise and experience to the stories we tell [// Read more]( Pic of the day Enoch Godongwana, South Africa’s finance minister, delivers the budget presentation in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images) [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa