The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it “can only but laugh at the ludicrous statements” by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown that two of its MPs and a group of supporters “gained access illegally to Megawatt Park”. The party’s Natasha Mazzone said that if Brown’s claims were true‚ it is an indictment of lax security at Eskom’s headquarters.She said it “is nothing more than a desperate attempt to draw attention away from our petition” against Eskom executives being paid R73-million in “performance bonuses” over the past seven years.“The truth is that yesterday (Tuesday) the DA arranged with Eskom to hand over a petition signed by 77000 South Africans demanding that its executives repay their bonuses‚” said Mazzone of events on Wednesday.“The arrangement to receive the petition was made with Eskom stakeholder spokesperson‚ Mr Loyiso Jiya.”Mazzone said that she‚ fellow MP Kevin Mileham and the group of supporters announced their arrival at Megawatt Park at the gates and “the security guards let them in no questions asked”.“The numerous security cameras on the site can attest to this‚” she said.Mazzone said she requested a receptionist to contact Jiya and after a 30-minute wait was met instead by Eskom CEO Brian Molefe‚ with whom she exchanged “a cordial greeting …explained the contents of the petition to him and he agreed to accept the documents”.“Once the handover was complete‚ the group left Megawatt Park in a peaceful and non-disruptive manner‚” she said.But‚ she added‚ “in retrospect…now that minister Brown has bought up the access to the facility‚ it is concerning that security simply granted access to the group without checking identification or checking the motor vehicles.“The DA therefore demands that as a matter of urgency‚ the security at Megawatt Park is upgraded to ensure the safety of the facility.” Brown had earlier on Wednesday “criticised the unacceptable and irresponsible behaviour” of the DA delegation‚ and claimed trhey had “gained unlawful entry to the reception by using the entry card of a DA sympathiser”.“MPs should be conversant with the laws governing protests. Acting in a legal and responsible manner would have required them to request permission from the relevant authorities and notify Eskom before embarking on this reckless action‚” said Brown.Mazzone‚ however‚ countered this saying it “was not a protest” and was instead “an arranged meeting with Mr Jiya to hand over a petition”. “Mr Jiya was fully aware of the purpose of the meeting and one can only speculate that perhaps he did not follow protocol appreciated by the Minister and Mr Molefe‚” she added.“Perhaps if Minister Brown spent as much time making sure the Eskom turbines spin as much as her response to the DA petition‚ the country would not be in the precarious energy supply situation it is in.“The minister can spin all she likes‚ but the fact of matter is that Eskom’s poor planning and mismanagement is to blame for the crisis and the economic damage it has caused. Paying performance bonuses to Eskom executives during this period simply cannot be justified.”The petition handover came three days after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa opened public hearings which could see electricity price being increased by more than 16%...