'Execs must pay back bonuses'

Lance Greyling, the ID spokesperson on energy, said on Monday: "The ID calls on all members of Eskom management to pay back the bonuses as soon as they get them out of solidarity with the consumers they have wronged."

Greyling explained: "If Eskom wants us to save energy and pay more for the energy we use, then Eskom must do its bit by saving the money it is paying to an under-performing management. It is just plain wrong that the public has to pay for the sins of Eskom and the government."

An analysis by a group of forensic accountants published last Wednesday showed that the actual supply of electricity is not one of the so-called "gatekeepers" that would prevent the bonuses being paid out.

Forensies.com pointed out that certain gatekeeper conditions give the board the discretion to review the bonuses, the accountants said. "These gatekeeper conditions include safety factors, operating losses, a qualified audit report and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.

"Generation and distribution of electricity is however not regarded as important enough to qualify as a gatekeeper condition and therefore there will most likely not be a reconsideration of the bonuses because of the current electricity crisis," their report says.

After analysing the criteria that are used for the bonus payout, the accountants say: "It appears that Eskom chose to promote the narrow political ideologies of its shareholder (the government), like employment equity and black economic empowerment, instead of concentrating on generation of electricity."

- I-Net Bridge