Deputy Speaker, there can be no doubt that this department is struggling and this is affirmed in the Report. The department has oversight and over energy in our nation and our country as we all know is facing unprecedented energy shortages with load shedding in the first quarter of this year by Eskom contributing to a 3,1% contraction in the GDP for that quarter.
Much of the corruption, maladministration and state capture that took place at Eskom have been highlighted in both parliamentary oversight inquiry as well as the Zondo
Commission into state capture. The ACDP looks forward to the perpetrators being locked up and ill-gotten gains been recovered. The auditor-general has for three consecutive years expressed the qualified audit opinion on this department. The basis for these finance are largely due to irregular expenditure being understated as well as material under spending of R63 million.
As far as the central energy fund is concerned, the ACDP welcomes the court application to set aside the disposal of the sale of the strategic crude oil stock. It beggars belief that this sale took place at all, placing our country at severe risk of oil shortages. We trusted that there will be a positive outcome to this court case. We also note the integrated resource plan. This is the electricity road map for the next 10 years and it is a fairly good starting point providing a framework for procurement of electricity generation.
However, the plan does not go extensively into the work that is required. We share concerns about the decommissioning of Grootvlei and Komati coal fire stations as both these stations had a highest power
availability factors in the entire Eskom fleet. This clearly needs to be reconsidered. I thank you.