ANC suggests pension funds take Eskom assets

Bloomberg

The Economic Transformation Committee of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) suggested that pension funds take over some of the assets of the indebted state power company.
The proposal to transfer parts of Eskom Holdings SOC into non-state hands was made in a discussion document, which considered responses to the coronavirus-induced economic slump. The ANC’s labour union allies oppose privatisation of Eskom assets. “There is a need for continued support for Eskom to overcome its immediate financial and technical challenges and to ensure reliable electricity supply,” the committee said.
“A solution needs to be found to Eskom’s debt problem, including the possibility of pension funds being mobilised to take over certain restructured Eskom assets.” Eskom, which has hindered economic growth by subjecting the country to periodic power cuts, is labouring under a debt burden of at least $26.7 billion, and cannot meet its costs.
The proposals around Eskom form part of a broader strategy proposed by the committee to help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, which it said had highlighted the country’s
inequalities. “The pandemic has brought sharply to the fore the persistent problem of the existence of two distinct economic realities in South Africa — one poor and mainly black, and one rich and mainly white,” it said.