Godongwana confirms U-turn on Eskom spending exemption
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has confirmed that Eskom will no longer be granted a partial exemption from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures, including material losses from criminal conduct in its annual financial statements.
The decision comes after extensive consultations with the auditor general as well as Eskom’s auditors about the controversial application.
Eskom had asked for a partial exemption, which had been granted through a gazetted notice in April, causing a public outcry.
READ: Eskom irregular expense exemption shelved 'for now' - Godongwana
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has welcomed the decision as a positive action by the treasury.
"It is right to commend the minister for following due process thereafter for reversing that decision and getting and receiving comments from all sectors of society - heeding those calls and deciding not to go ahead with the granting of that exemption,” says CEO Wayne Duvenage.
"While we see that is it more onerous for entities in their financial reporting, from a business perspective, this is South Africans money and there needs to be extreme transparency."
