Johannesburg - Exempting Eskom and willy-nilly spending public funds sponsoring soccer teams are some of the recent controversial decisions that have been sighted as signs of visionless government leadership, said Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
Outa’s chief executive officer Wayne Duvenage counted a number of what he called bad choices made by the local and national governments leading to the public outcry. Some of the decisions were withdrawn due to public pressure.
“It is just mind-boggling how they (government leaders) think and who is advising them.
“I think they have the advisers that are yes men, the advisers that give them the advice they want to hear and not what they should hear.
“We are dealing with politicians and not leaders as they are not leading this country along the right path,” said Duvenage.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana caused an uproar when he, without thorough consultation, gazetted the exemption of Eskom from publishing irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditures in its 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial statements.
Due to pressure, Godongwana told Parliament on Wednesday that the exemption has been temporarily withdrawn pending consultation. He said his department granted a similar exemption to Transnet after extensive consultation last year.
Among what he described as the government’s bad decisions, Duvenage recalled Ethekwini Municipality pledging to spend more than R15 million funding the city-based Premier Soccer League (PSL) Royal AM Football Club. It was reported that the deal was announced while the club’s wealthy tenderpreneur owner Shauwn Mkhize had bought Rolls-Royce worth R16 million.
It was reported that the metro also pledged R5.2 million to Golden Arrows FC and R3.7 million to AmaZulu FC. The rugby team, the Sharks, is reportedly receiving R4 million annually from ratepayers.
The cash-strapped Msunduzi Municipality in Pietermaritzburg also pledged in 2021 to sponsor PSL Maritzburg United FC with R27 million which was going to be paid in R9 million per annum tranches over a three-year period.
African Christian Democratic Party Councillor Rienus Niemand Msunduzi made the commitment to the team despite opposition parties voting against it.
“The municipality has got cash for seven days when it should have cash for 90 days, it is owed R6 billion which it has not collected,” Niemand said.
However, the Maritzburg FC chairperson Farook Kadodia said the team has not received any payment because “they (municipality) have their own financial hardship.”
While Lindiwe Sisulu was the minister of tourism, the public outcry stopped her department from giving away R1 billion to Britain’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
Duvenage said even former president Jacob Zuma made a bad decision when he tried to sign a nuclear power deal with Russia.
He said Outa is still in court pursuing the government to abandon the 20-year deal with Karpowership, which would cost the state more than R200 billion.
“We are in court on Karpowership, another one that Gwede Mantashe is pushing, which is very irrational and we cannot afford it.
“The E-Toll matter was a bad decision, the civil society taught them a lesson,” he said.
Even in the early years of democracy, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma while she was health minister caused huge noise when she channelled R14.27 million to playwright Mbongeni Ngema for the production of Sarafina II.
“You have to ask yourself what the ministers are thinking. Why do they even entertain such suggestions from Eskom and Transnet not to disclose?
“I think they do not have the interests of the citizens and the well-being of this country central to every decision,” he said.
He said Outo often advises the government to first ask itself “Is the decision in the best interest of South Africa and the citizen?”
He accused the ANC-leg administration of always looking at saving the face of the ruling party.
“In other words, if they (Eskom) don’t disclose irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure then there is going to be less uproar.
“It is all about how do we lessen the public scrutiny so we won’t be seen to be governing this country badly,” he said.
Godongwana said the exemption was granted to avoid Eskom from receiving qualified audit opinions “for unnecessary irregular expenditures which have not led to a loss to the state.”
Godongwana told Parliament on Wednesday that he had temporarily withdrawn the exemption pending detailed consultation with Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke and other stakeholders.
“The AG was of the view that there has not been a proper intensive consultation with her and therefore we need to have a proper consultation with AG and auditors of Eskom.
“And we have also taken criticism which is coming out in the public and that criticism centres around accountability, transparency and check and balances against corrupt activities,” Godongwana later told SABC.
ANC MP Bheki Hadebe reminded the minister of the importance of respecting the constitution.
“The constitution is the supreme law of our country and any breach in our legislation that is in conflict with the constitution, the constitution will always prevail,” he said.
Hadebe called on the national treasury to respect the constitution by ensuring that there is transparency and expenditure control in each sphere of government, including public entities.
“Section 172 of the constitution makes clear that any organ of state contracting goods and services must do so in accordance with the system, which is fair, equitable, transparency and cost-effective,” said Hadebe.