Nene slams media on Eskom reporting

Cape Town - The reporting "on the matter" of the troubles at Eskom "has not been helpful", Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene told MPs serving on the national assembly finance portfolio committee on Tuesday.

Responding to questions from MPs serving on the committee - including chairperson Yunus Carrim, an ANC MP who said the newspaper reports about Eskom were "troubling", Nene said: "You are creating an environment... even if there are shortcomings that need to be addressed (where) our (National Treasury's) hands are tied... because we are scared of the reports that come (in the media)," the minister said.

He said government is taking measures to resolve the problems at Eskom - carefully avoiding any mention of a crisis - to address its financial sustainability. "The financial package (for Eskom) was proposed in the MTBPS (mini budget)... and confirmed in (the February) budget."

"We are on track on the financial sustainability of Eskom," he said, noting that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa would be fleshing out the details of the work of the "war room" on Eskom that he leads.

Carrim, a former minister of communications and former deputy minister of local government, rounded up questions in the committee today by expressing concerns about the newspaper reports "on what is going on there (at Eskom) in the last two weeks".

The committee chair said the reports are "extremely worrying", including that the chairperson of Eskom Zola Tsotsi "now appeared to be under siege" by his own board.

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