Ramokgopa slams Eskom's inexcusable failure to secure clean audit

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says it is "inexcusable" that power utility Eskom has failed to achieve a clean audit, despite stabilising the country's power grid over the last few years.

Ramokgopa said this remains a serious problem for an entity of Eskom's size.

The utility received a qualified audit opinion, primarily for overstating approximately R16 billion in reported turnaround savings over the year under review.

The Auditor-General (AG) issued the opinion despite Eskom’s ability to achieve a profit following significant government assistance.

ALSO READ: South Africa edges closer to competitive electricity market

The minister’s remarks came during a briefing to the Energy Committee regarding his department's annual performance.

Ramokgopa said this is not acceptable for an entity of Eskom’s size and operations.

“And then our problem child from an audit point of view is Eskom, and we know the challenges there with a qualification. And an institution that size, with the size of budget and expertise, it’s still inexcusable that we have a qualification. So, we are working on it.”

 But Ramokgopa said the country is moving in the right direction in terms of getting people connected with access at 93%.

“We think anything 97% plus will constitute universal access.”