Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says Eskom's debt is unsustainable and the National Treasury has to step in.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the ANC's sixth policy conference. During President Cyril Ramaphosa's address on solving SA's energy crisis, he said the Treasury was working to finalise a sustainable solution to Eskom's R400bn debt.
“People are saying it may well be that the problem with Eskom is management. I suspect that the analysis is correct,” said Godongwana.
“We are in an environment where, from a financial perspective, Eskom's debt is unsustainable. Being unsustainable, we've got to find a way in stepping in as the fiscus.
“The key question is: how do we do so in such a manner that Eskom doesn't come back to us?”
Godongwana also weighed in on calls for a basic income grant, saying he didn't believe it was the correct solution for South African youth.
“I do not think it is a solution for the young people who are unemployed. We've got to design instruments to deal with young people who are unemployed in a manner to assist them to be gainfully employed.”
- Additional reporting by Thando Maeko
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WATCH | Eskom debt is unsustainable and we've got to step in, says finance minister Godongwana
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says Eskom's debt is unsustainable and the National Treasury has to step in.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the ANC's sixth policy conference. During President Cyril Ramaphosa's address on solving SA's energy crisis, he said the Treasury was working to finalise a sustainable solution to Eskom's R400bn debt.
“People are saying it may well be that the problem with Eskom is management. I suspect that the analysis is correct,” said Godongwana.
“We are in an environment where, from a financial perspective, Eskom's debt is unsustainable. Being unsustainable, we've got to find a way in stepping in as the fiscus.
“The key question is: how do we do so in such a manner that Eskom doesn't come back to us?”
Godongwana also weighed in on calls for a basic income grant, saying he didn't believe it was the correct solution for South African youth.
“I do not think it is a solution for the young people who are unemployed. We've got to design instruments to deal with young people who are unemployed in a manner to assist them to be gainfully employed.”
- Additional reporting by Thando Maeko
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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