Eskom expenditure exemption 'allows to report finances on time’

That's the take of Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt.

"There are things for example like wasteful expenditure is managed over time. You have to report that and that in itself can be an exercise and cost a lot of money,” says Roodt.

READ: Treasury defends Eskom irregular expenditure reporting exemption

"Additionally to that, you not only have to report it, you have to in following up years you have to report back on what you have done about that and that also can cost a lot of resources. So exempting Eskom from this will make it easier for Eskom to report on their finances." 

The exemption, which was granted by National Treasury, was published in the government gazette.

But Roodt says there will be a catch should the exemption go ahead.

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"The biggest challenge to this is that it will create an opportunity to hide all sorts of corruption and misallocation of resources. So I absolutely agree with the call by various institutions that Eskom should not be exempt from this."