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The Bill

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The Bill

To provide for a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund for debt relief for Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—
Interpretation
1. In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—
‘‘Eskom’’ means Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd;
‘‘Minister’’ means the Cabinet member responsible for finance; and
‘‘relevant Parliamentary Committees’’ means the Standing Committee on Appropriations of the National Assembly and the Select Committee on Appropriations of the National Council of Provinces.

Direct charges for requirements of Eskom
2. (1) The following amounts for the requirements of Eskom are direct charges against the National Revenue Fund and attributed to the vote of the National Treasury:
(a) R78 billion for the 2023/24 financial year;
(b) R66 billion for the 2024/25 financial year; and
(c) R40 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
(2) (a) The National Treasury must advance the amounts envisaged in subsection (1) as a loan to Eskom on the dates determined by the Minister.
(b) The Minister must determine conditions for the conversion of a portion or portions of the amount of the loan for each financial year into ordinary shares issued by Eskom to the State.
(c) When the Minister informs Eskom, in writing, that he or she is satisfied that
Eskom has met the conditions for the conversion of any portion of the amount of the loan for a financial year, Eskom must issue ordinary shares to the State equal to the value of the portion of the amount.
(d) The Minister and Eskom must, in writing, agree on—
(i) the implementation of paragraphs (a) to (c); and
(ii) other arrangements to give effect to subparagraph (i).
(e) The National Treasury must, in its next quarterly report to the relevant
Parliamentary Committees, report on compliance with the conditions and disclose the amounts of the conversion.
(3) In addition to the amount envisaged in subsection (1)(c), for the 2025/26 financial year, R70 billion of the debt of Eskom is a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund through a debt takeover arrangement as determined by the Minister.

Delegations and authorisations
3. (1) The Minister may—
(a) delegate to an employee of the National Treasury any power conferred on the Minister in terms of this Act; and
(b) authorise an employee of the National Treasury to perform any duty imposed on the Minister in terms of this Act.
(2) A delegation or authorisation in terms of subsection (1)—
(a) must be in writing;
(b) is subject to any limitations or conditions that the Minister may impose;
(c) may authorise the employee contemplated in subsection (1) to sub-delegate, in writing, the delegated power or authorised duty to another suitable employee of the National Treasury;
(d) does not divest the Minister of the responsibility concerning the exercise of
the delegated power or the performance of the authorised duty; and
(e) may be withdrawn by the Minister in writing.
(3) The Minister may vary or revoke any decision taken by an employee as a result of a delegation or authorisation in terms of subsection (1), subject to any rights that may have vested as a result of the decision.

Short title
4. This Act is called the Eskom Debt Relief Act, 2023.

STATEMENTS FROM OTHER ORGANISATIONS

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Cape Independence Advocacy Group

Dear Speaker,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) and the seventy thousand South Africans who actively follow our work.

We wish to comment on the ‘Electoral Commissions Amendment Act, 2021’, which is proposed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and was published in the Government Gazette on 21 June 2021.

Given our mandate, our comments are made in the context of the Western Cape, although we appreciate and respect that the constitutional rights enacted through this bill will rightfully apply to all provinces.

This bill is essential to restoring some degree of functional democracy to the voters of the Western Cape and we therefore unreservedly and wholeheartedly endorse it.

Through their voting behaviour, Western Cape voters have made it abundantly clear that they do not endorse many of the policy and ideological positions of the South African national government, but are left utterly powerless to resist them because the voters in other South African provinces, who greatly outnumber them, hold starkly different ideological and political opinions.

In terms of seeing their democratic will enacted, for the majority of Western Cape voters, the democratic era has not offered much of an improvement over the apartheid era. It is a statistical fact that, since 1994, the majority of Western Cape voters have never been governed by the political party they voted for, and they have no foreseeable prospect of ever being governed by the party they vote for. As such, they cannot be said to have functional democracy.

One of the few glimmers of democratic hope Western Cape voters do have, is the provision of Clause 127(2)(f) of the national constitution, and 37(2)(f) of the Western Cape constitution, which allows them, at the discretion of the premier who they elected, to have their voices heard on matters which are important to them, without being drowned out by a national majority who fundamentally hold different views.

To deny Western Cape voters this constitutional right would be a very serious infringement of their political rights and freedoms, and would be a clear indication that parliament and the national government are not interested in the constitutional rights and democratic wishes of Western Cape voters.

We therefore call upon parliament to pass this bill at the earliest opportunity, and without objection.

Yours Faithfully

Phil Craig
(On behalf of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group)