Parliament, Wednesday 4 December 2019 – It was incorrectly stated on Tuesday at a meeting of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), during the presentation by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Kevin Naidoo, that Parliament owes Eskom R17 000.
The information given to the committee was unfortunately erroneous as Parliament does not have any electricity account with Eskom, and thus cannot owe or be in arrears with the entity.
Parliament’s buildings, which include the parliamentary precinct and villages that accommodate MPs in Cape Town, are under the management of the Department of Public Works. This means that the Department of Public Works, not Parliament, is billed for electricity and other services of the parliamentary buildings.
The inaccurate information given to the Parliamentary committee is concerning because, as an institution that conducts oversight over Eskom and is key to addressing the challenges currently confronting it, Parliament should not be amongst those contributing to the power utility’s financial problems.
Parliament’s leadership will interact with the committee to ensure that this unfortunate inaccuracy is corrected.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Enquiries: Moloto Mothapo 082 370 6930
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