The notice gazetted on Friday that exempts Eskom from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful irregular expenditure will be withdrawn, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced on Wednesday.
The withdrawal follows a public uproar over the exemption, which critics said would serve to conceal the corruption that has become rife in Eskom.
In a briefing to five parliamentary committees, Godongwana said the withdrawal of the notice followed discussions he held with auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke on Tuesday during which the concerns were raised.
Godongwana said that after the withdrawal of the notice, detailed discussions would be held and the checks and balances would be tightened.
In terms of the now-withdrawn exemption notice, Eskom would not have to disclose irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in its financial statements but only in its annual report.
Godongwana told MPs that Eskom’s financial statements were constrained by the need to disclose these items, and that that affected its ability to raise capital. That, in turn, affected risk to the fiscus, which has committed to a R254bn bailout for Eskom over three years.
He said Eskom was a major risk to the fiscus and the aim was to mitigate any risk that could complicate the problem.
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