Chairperson, where is the security? Please, call in the white shirts, because Eskom is holding a gun to the head of every person here. [Interjections.] "Too big to fail" is what they told us. The executive of Eskom has decided to take that as permission to continue to mismanage our most strategic commodity.
The process followed to get this Bill to this House has been hopelessly flawed. We have been rushed to ensure that we can pass this Bill in time to meet Eskom's looming deadlines. Public participation was given lip services and the committee has been lied to and misled. Let me explain that statement.
On 24 July, we had a meeting that was recorded in the media and when I called for strict conditions to be placed on this appropriation, there was consensus across party lines. On 9 October, Treasury spent an entire morning listing their proposed conditions and gave the committee various options of introducing these conditions, either
through inclusion in the Bill or through amending the Bill to allow the Minister to place regulations on it. Again, there was consensus that tough conditions must be demanded and some should be included in the Bill with power given to the Minister of Finance to impose further conditions.
Imagine our horror when we got the final report with an unaltered Bill, no conditions and we were told that the timelines do not allow for the Minister of Finance to promulgate regulations. We were misled by Treasury. In a spectacular undermining of the Parliamentary process, the executive has colluded behind our backs and made a mockery of our oversight role.
What Treasury did tell us though is that Eskom management continues, seemingly unfazed by what is happening. They have not made material changes to how they operate. They submit inaccurate reports and they miss their deadlines. They display arrogance and they refuse to be scrutinised by intelligence authorities. It is just business as usual for them. They are showing South Africa the middle finger. And now, once again, the NCOP is going to rollover and merely rubberstamp the Bill, pandering to the executive.
I say no. I propose that we amend this Bill to include, if not the conditions themselves, by the very least, the clause, to empower the Minister of Finance and the Minster of Public Enterprises to enforce strict, measurable and smart conditions, as we all agreed in the committee meeting. And that will ensure that Eskom starts to come back on board with a project of fiscal recovery for South Africa, following the rampant theft - state capture.
Eskom allowed themselves to be captured. They must now submit to scrutiny and control or we must replace the executive with people who intend to put South Africa first. We reject this report and the Bill. Thank you.
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