Treasury exempts SA's most notoriously dysfunctional parastatal from reporting wasteful or irregular expenditure. April fools?

A recent news alert had many journalists assuming the National Treasury had suddenly developed a sense of humour.  A notice in the Government Gazette declared Eskom would be exempt from reporting wasteful and irregular expenditure for the next two years.

Surely an April Fool’s joke? And a good one at that.

Actually no. It’s the truth.

As if to confirm that South African truth is stranger than fiction, the Treasury has, in fact, exempted South Africa’s most notoriously dysfunctional parastatal from reporting wasteful or irregular expenditure in its financial statements.  

Ostensibly the move is aimed at resolving ‘technical accounting issues’ arising from the words ‘wasteful’  and ‘fruitless’; Treasury was reportedly also quick to clarify that wasteful and irregular expenditure would still need to be declared in Eskom’s annual report.

However given the scale of criminality exposed within Government circles of late it is hard to escape the conclusion that Treasury’s exemption  is, at best, hopelessly ill-considered.

Not only does it arouse further suspicion of a brazen cover-up of fruitless and irregular expenditure, it does so at a time when South Africa is crying out for MORE transparency, not less.

Treasury has reportedly defended its decision and promised to give more clarity, but why could it not do so ahead of its exemption, rather than as an apparent afterthought?  Under the current circumstances, with South Africans literally in the dark due wasteful and irregular expenditure of alarming proportions, Treasury’s exemption is akin to a punch in the collective gut. It is an insult added to a grievous financial injury.

We agree with Premier Alan Winde who labelled Treasury’s move as “a major setback to meaningfully dealing with the energy crisis and fixing Eskom”.

If there is a silver lining to this matter it is that Treasury’s exemption will have the unintended consequence of focusing attention on Eskom’s financials, no matter how they are formulated.

What does it mean when Government Policy sounds like an April Fool’s Joke? It means the joke’s on us. But that’s no laughing matter.