Eskom wants to pay R1.8 billion in performance bonuses, despite the company’s dismal financial situation and its inability to keep the lights on.

In recent years Eskom has become the poster child of state capture and failed state-owned enterprises, and is now the biggest risk to the South African economy.

The power utility’s debt is sitting at a staggering R450 billion, it is massively overstaffed, it lacks critical skills, it has ageing power stations, and its maintenance is a mess.

Problems at Eskom were in full display in recent weeks when load-shedding hit a record stage 6 in December and made an unwelcome return again on Saturday night.

Despite these problems, Eskom wants to reward its workforce for a job well done with R1.8 billion in performance bonuses between 2019 and 2022.

Rapport reported that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) said Eskom did not reveal this plan in its tariff applications.

According to Nersa, these bonuses are within management’s control and should not be allowed while Eskom is financially unstable.

How much money Eskom is losing

Over the last financial year, Eskom posted a net loss of R20.7 billion.

While the government is promising to turn Eskom around, most South Africans are sceptical as they have heard this statement many times before.

The company continues to be dogged by poor governance, corruption, maladministration, and cadre deployment, with no end in sight.

To give you an idea of how much money Eskom loses each second, MyBroadband created an Eskom loss counter – shown below.

Now read: How much money Eskom loses every second