Acting President Cyril Ramaphosa during Heritage Day Celebrations at James Motlatsi Stadium in Orkney, North West. South Africa. 24/09/2014. Siyabulela Duda
Acting President Cyril Ramaphosa during Heritage Day Celebrations at James Motlatsi Stadium in Orkney, North West. South Africa. 24/09/2014. Siyabulela Duda
South Africa may not exactly have “payday money” in its back pocket, but Cyril Ramaphosa has found enough change behind the country’s sofa to roll out some pretty significant investments in the near future.
During his address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the president shed some light on where the government would be handing out some much-needed cash injections. As well as plans to alleviate the unemployment crisis and help secure SA’s borders, the spectre of Eskom also loomed large on his speech.
The Mid-Term Budget Speech (MTBPS) is coming towards the end of October, but we’ve already got a glimpse of where our taxpayer money is going. Some elements are quite pleasing, but no doubt that the public will have gripes with one or two of the projects mentioned: Here’s how Ramaphosa is planning to splash the cash:
President #Ramaphosa: With the publication of the Special Paper on Eskom and the implementation of its recommendations, we will shift from crisis management to sustainable recovery. pic.twitter.com/KDnUv835OM
— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) October 10, 2019
Hoping for a little more detail on Eskom? Well, it looks like you will have to wait a few more weeks. Ramaphosa did tease the fact that a new CEO of the company will be in place – and more board members will soon be added. He blamed a myriad of problems on the power utility’s failures, but firmly believes the turnaround has already started:
“It is broadly accepted that Eskom’s current structure is outdated and unresponsive to changes in the energy market. The Board of Directors will be strengthened with additional members with the relevant technical expertise to lead the turn around at Eskom. Much progress has been made to stabilise Eskom this year.”
“Eskom’s financial challenges are mainly due to unsustainable operating costs caused by expensive coal contracts, high headcount, overall operating inefficiencies, corruption and the cost of construction for Medupi and Kusile. Government has taken bold steps to shore up Eskom’s finances and lay the basis for longer-term sustainability.”
Cyril Ramaphosa