The IFP will back a mooted move to dismantle the Department of Public Enterprises and to house Eskom under the Energy and Mineral Resources Department, the organisation has said.
This, according to the organisation, will stabilise the embattled state-owned entity and lead to greater accountability.
The IFP noted the ANC’s recent resolution to move Eskom from Public Enterprises Department to the Energy and Mineral Resources Department.
“As the IFP, we have raised this issue and have long been calling for Eskom to be moved to the Energy Department – many months before the ANC resolution was reached,” said the organisation.
“The IFP has gone on record in 2022, during debates in parliament, as well as in IFP statements, calling for Eskom and other state-owned enterprises to be moved to their line function departments.”
The ANC 55th National Conference, held in Nasrec near Soweto in December, resolved when it concluded at the weekend to drastically reduce the number of public-owned entities and move those deemed ineffective to line functions under various government departments.
At the core of the proposal is the belief that the move will bring certainty and ensure effective policy direction.
If the decision sees the light of day, ANC national chairperson and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe will oversee the functions of Eskom while Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is likely to be shown the door.
But the DA, the official opposition party in the National Assembly, has slated the proposal on the grounds that it is a political decision aimed at rewarding Mantashe for supporting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s re-election bid.
“There is a clear and present danger that if this happens, Eskom will never be fully unbundled as is necessary,” the party said.
“Moreover, it will retain its dominant market position and the envisaged open power exchange and market will not, in all probability, be implemented.
“The only faction set to gain from this move is clearly an outcome of a political deal to keep president Ramaphosa in power for another term.”
The DA also announced that it will explore all available legal avenues to block the decision.
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