HOSPERSA DISTURBED BY PENSION FUND BAIL OUT FOR ESKOM

HOSPERSA February 6, 2018

Hospersa is alarmed by the announcement of the R5 billion bail out to Eskom by the Public Investment Coporation (PIC). The Union has called on the PIC to focus on investing and not fall victim to granting loans to cash-strapped government entities.

According to reports, the PIC has agreed to bail out Eskom with a R5-billion bridging facility backed by a government guarantee. It is reported that the loan will fund the company’s operations during the month of February 2018. The fact that the PIC manages the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has given rise to cash-strapped government entities to knock on its doors for financial relief.

“Hospersa is concerned that the PIC has allowed this bailout to take place,” said Hospersa General Secretary Noel Desfontaines. “For the majority of employees in the public service, the pension fund is their only investment for the future. To use the fund to bail-out state owned entities especially those plagued with alleged corruption and maladministration is reckless,” argued Desfontaines.

“It is not the first time that the power utility has been given a lifeline,” said Desfontaines. “In previous occasions, maladministration and corruption were the order of the day with no accountability to senior officials that were involved. Instead the country continues being held at ransom with threats of electrical blackouts. This bail out will set a precedence for other poorly run government entities which includes the South African Airways (SAA) to target the PIC for financial relief,” said Desfontaines.

“As a union with many members in the public sector, we want the PIC to exercise transparency by assuring GEPF trustees that their savings are safe from the clutches of these poorly run entities. We call on the PIC to safe guard our members’ savings and perform its core function, which is investment and not become a safe haven for government entities riddled with maladministration and corruption,” concluded Desfontaines.

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