ANC Considers Funnelling R200bn of Underspent Funds to Eskom, Raises Eyebrows in SA: “Where Is the Money?”

• The ANC wants government to shift unused funds in the national budget to cash-strapped power utility, Eskom
• The money will reportedly be used to fund infrastructure projects, address Eskom's debt and possibly bankroll the state of disaster situation
• South Africans are surprised to hear that so much money goes unspent in government departments

JOHANNESBURG - The ANC has some ideas on how government can solve ailing power utility Eskom's financial troubles.

During the ruling party's National Executive Committee lekgotla, the ANC formulated a plan to move R200 billion in underspent money from other departments to Eskom.

While addressing the media after the lekgotla, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said the ANC is looking to a coordinated approach to the energy crisis and getting more generation capacity on the grid.

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According to the Mail & Guardian, the redirected funds will be used to finance infrastructure projects while addressing the cash-strapped power utility's mounting debt.

The looming state of national disaster over the energy crisis was also a topic of discussion during the lekgotla. Mbalula revealed that the ANC is concerned about where the funding for the state of disaster will come from.

ANC NEC members conceded that the national budget is constrained, but after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's presentation, the lekgotla came to the conclusion that the national budget will need to be reprioritised, News24 reported.

The ANC hopes the unspent funds could also be used to bankroll the national state of disaster.

South Africans react to the ANC plan for Eskom

South Africans were surprised that the country's budget even had leftover money to begin with.

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Below are some reactions:

J.J. Bester asked:

"Under... But where is the money?"

Gerard Jonathan questioned:

"Lol, which department is underspent?"

Sikheto Errow Minyami stated

"So the money it didn't spend on fixing the roads must be used to fix Eskom. What message are you sending to those who looted from Eskom and those who owe Eskom?"

Donald Tuck speculated:

"OMW. This makes it sound like the government has lots of money at its disposal and wants to launder it through Eskom."

Thembelani Msomi added

"The saddest part is that these clowns actually take themselves seriously."

Jessica Swanepoel claimed:

"They wanna eat more and more."

DA demands transparency in ANC's Eskom state of disaster plans, other parties weigh in

In a related story, Briefly New reported South Africa’s opposition parties have reacted to the African National Congress’ decision to finally declare the country’s energy crisis a national state of disaster.

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The most vocal out of all the parties was the Democratic Alliance (DA). The main opposition party first took to Twitter to take responsibility for “pushing” the ruling party into making the decision.

The DA tweeted:

“Today, the ANC was finally left with no choice but to accede to the DA’s demand to declare Eskom an ANC-made disaster zone.”

Source: Briefly News