South Africa not planning to privatise Eskom after split, says minister Gordhan

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan addresses a memorial service for anti-apartheid veteran Ahmed Kathrada in Cape Town, South Africa April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/File Photo

South Africa is not planning to privatise embattled power utility Eskom after the firm is split into three separate entities of generation, transmission and distribution, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.


“At no stage has the president said, or the government indicated, that there would be privatisation of any of these entities or that this is the motivation for the separation into three entities,” Gordhan told a parliamentary committee.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the plan to split Eskom into three entities last week, in an effort to make the company more efficient.