Eskom has been reported to have waste a huge sum of money in purchasing flats which was not used.
The Auditor-General of South Africa(AGSA) recently released a report for the 2019/20 financial year. The report revealed that Eskom’s wasteful expenditure increased from R538 million to R2.9 billion.
Out of the huge amount, flats were purchased for the technicians who were going to work at Kusile Power Station when it was still being built.
However, the station construction was concluded before the flats were built.
GSA business executive Polani Sokombela said: “That building has been impaired down to zero, because where it is sitting currently, it would be very difficult to get tenants who would be willing to stay there and pay.”
The AG’s Siyakhula Vilakazi said the budget for the flats was R160m and the actual expenditure when the project was stopped was around R840m.
“How the budget ballooned from R160m to R840m … it’s actually very difficult to get credible answers to that,” he said.
“That building has been impaired down to zero because where it is sitting now it’s very difficult to get tenants who would be willing to pay market-related rentals. It is also not in a state or condition where people can live in it,” said Vilakazi.
