SOUTH African civil society groups criticised Eskom’s exemption from reporting irregular spending in its annual financial statements, saying the move raises concerns about rampant corruption at the state-owned power utility.
The National Treasury on Friday granted a request by Eskom to lift some disclosure requirements and move the category of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure to its annual report for three years.
Exempting the company from reporting those costs in its financial statements may reduce the risk of a qualified opinion from the utility’s auditors and, in turn, protect the company’s credit rating, according to the Treasury.
The utility reported a balance of R67.1 billion of such expenses in the 2022 financial year.
“Eskom is an organisation that’s steeped in concerns around irregular expenditure and corruption,” said Wayne Duvenage, chief executive officer of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, a nonprofit. “Hiding them does no good.”
Eskom and other state-owned companies
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