Eskom on Sunday lashed out at media reports that it was “broke”, saying it was confident it could keep going.

“Eskom refutes the notion that it is facing a cash crisis, and that it has only enough cash to last for the next three months,” it said in a statement.

“The company is confident that it will maintain sufficient liquidity to support its operations,” it added.

The state-owned enterprise said that it had noted weekend media reports about apparent financial problems.

However, it said that, because it was making an official announcement on its finances this coming Wednesday, “Eskom is not in a position to respond comprehensively to the specific issues raised at this stage”.

The power utility said that “external auditors have confirmed Eskom as a going concern, and as a result the company sees these reports as being inaccurate and misleading.

“It is important to reiterate that Eskom is not facing any liquidity challenges.”

The parastatal also said it wanted to highlight certain points, including that “whilst Eskom’s financial position has always been supported by significant reliance on debt and borrowings, its improved overall financial and operational performance over the last two years has led to an improved balance sheet”.

Eskom said it had “sufficient government guarantees” in order to be able to carry out its funding plan. It also had “maintained access to capital markets and raised committed funding”.

‘Eskom may not be able to pay salaries’
The Sunday Times newspaper published an article on Sunday in which it claimed that, according to financial statements it had seen, Eskom only had enough money to last approximately three months.

According to the weekly publication, Eskom has R20-billion left, but has proposed to pay millions in bonuses, including to former CEO Brian Molefe and suspended acting chief executive Matshela Koko.

This week, Fin24 reported that, late last Monday, Eskom postponed its financial results presentations which had been due to take place last Tuesday.

Earlier this month, external auditors SizweNtsalubaGobodo reported the state utility to the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors for apparent irregularities.

Koko has been on special leave since May, pending an investigation into an apparent conflict of interests, while a legal battle continues into the reinstatement and subsequent removal of Molefe.

On Sunday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) called on Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown to reject the proposed multi-million rand bonuses for the executives, past and present.

“The fact is that Eskom may not be able to pay salaries to its 49 000 employees come November,” said DA MP Natasha Mazzone in a statement.
– News24