‘Irrational and disastrous’: DA on Eskom possibly moving to DMRE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will fight tooth and nail, with all the levers at its disposal on Eskom possibly moving to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

DA WEIGHS IN ON A POSSIBLE ESKOM MOVE

The party said it shares the opinion of Professor Anton Eberhard, who has reportedly warned that it would be a grave mistake to move Eskom to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) or even a separate energy ministry.

According to Eberhard, there is an apparent conflict of interest in an energy ministry being Eskom’s shareholder while also having responsibility for competition and regulation in the sector.

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DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia said there is a clear and present danger that if this happens, Eskom will never be fully unbundled – as is necessary. Moreover, it will retain its dominant market position, and the envisaged open power exchange and the market will not, in all probability, be implemented.

Cachalia said the private investment would be pushed to the back burner and under an enhanced version of the status quo – back to the future, as it were – corruption and load shedding will flourish again.

“The move also has potentially significant financial implications, which we are busy unravelling. The only faction set to gain from this move is an outcome of a political deal to keep president Ramaphosa in power for another term,” he said.

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