Well, Eskom, you’re wading waist-deep in kak, huh?
That’s probably the nicest way we can say how much bother they’re in, after reporting a R2,3 billion net loss for the 2017/18 financial year ending March on Monday.
Needless to say, after years of being involved in corruption scandals under former president Jacob Zuma, being on the verge of liquidity, and rolling out load-shedding – which made a comeback last month – this staggering loss is not giving South Africans a reason to jump for joy.
Per a report by IOL:
Ratings agencies regularly cite Eskom’s R220 billion of government-guaranteed debt as a threat to the country’s sovereign credit ratings.
Eskom pegged the loss for 2017/18 financial year ending March on increases in financing costs and depreciation compared with a profit of R888 million in the previous reporting period.
CEO Phakamani Hadebe told the media on Monday that the negative results were heavily influenced by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
Eskom said that its net cash from operations declined from R45,8 billion to R37,6 billion, and the company continues to be strangled by leadership issues and operational woes.
Not to mention, EWN reports, that there had been R19,6 billion in irregular expenditure since 2012, with much of the irregular expenditure being reported in 2018.
Just flippin’ peachy.
Eskom chairperson Jabu Mabuza explained:
This was a result of us shaking the cupboard so hard that so many skeletons came tumbling down.
The verification and cleaning up exercise resulted in a significant increase in the number of reported irregular expenditure in 2018 (from R3 billion to R19,6 billion), with many of the items reported arising in prior years.
Where information was not readily available, alternative methods were used where practical to identify irregular expenditure.
To say that this is a huge concern is a bloody big understatement, with some municipalities owing the company R4,2 billion.
Given that Eskom’s debt now stands at R600 billion – a R213 billion increase from R387 billion four years ago – we have a legit reason to gripe and groan at the embattled power utility.
Hadebe tried to calm the waters with this statement:
We have raised 22% to date of the R72 billion borrowing requirement for 2018/19, and have a firm commitment to increase funding to 62% of the 2018/19 borrowing requirement.
Lovely. My confidence is soaring just fine.
Who am I kidding? Eskom is well and proper doomed, if it doesn’t buck up in the leadership department quickly.
Reckon we need Pravin to keep a close eye on all of this.
