[imagesource: Kim Ludbrook/EPA]

Eskom really is the gift that keeps on giving.

To be clear, by ‘gift’, I mean curse, and by ‘giving’, I mean taking bailout money that seems to be incinerated within seconds.

It really doesn’t help that as the Eskom workforce has increased, the energy output per employee has nosedived, either.

Continuing on from his superb Helen Zille ‘wrecking ball’ cartoon last week, Zapiro has arrowed in on the mess facing Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan as he tries to fix Eskom.

Here’s his latest effort on the Daily Maverick:

There’s much to unpack there, but I would like to give a special mention to the ‘bad emissions’ chap.

Gordhan will also have to deal with the fact that Finance minister Tito Mboweni is also growing weary, reports City Press:

Addressing the media ahead of the medium term budget policy statement in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mboweni described the power utility as being treated like “spoilt brat” who was given money without sufficient accountability, a situation Director-General Dondo Mogajane also likened to Father Christmas giving a child free sweets whenever it wanted.

Mboweni said Eskom, which would also be a beneficiary of R230 billion over 10 years for a series of structural reforms including its own, will have received a total of R69 billion to meet its “unanticipated cash needs” over the next three years.

However, he reiterated that government cannot continue to throw money at the power utility and that it should be run better.

“For the sizeable support required, it cannot be business as usual. Eskom must do the following: Run its current plant and equipment better, achieve other operational efficiencies, including much better cash management and fast track the separation of the utility into three parts as endorsed by the political principals.

“There should be no doubt about the policy decisions in this regard,” he said.

He added that further financial support to Eskom would be given in the forms of loans, rather than bailouts. Yeah, I’m sure Eskom will honour all of those loan conditions.

Just keep the lights on this weekend, please, as a bare minimum.

[sources:dailymaverick&citypress]