Hon Chairperson, due to the urgent need for government to stabilise Eskom and to deal with energy demands of the country, especially in the wake of load shedding, the Deputy President David Mabuza was appointed in February 2019 to lead the special Cabinet committee on Eskom.
Prior to the elections in May 2019, the Deputy President regularly apprised Cabinet on the work of the committee, covering such issues as consultations with organised labour on the separation of functions at Eskom, improvements in coal supply, measures to address Eskom's financial difficulties and progress made by the Eskom technical review panel.
With the reconstitution of all ministerial committees and Cabinet committees at the start of the sixth administration, there is no longer a special Cabinet committee on Eskom. Instead, Eskom is now a standing item on the Cabinet agenda where the Minister of Public Enterprises apprises Cabinet on the progress that we are making in Eskom's turnaround efforts in particular on cost curtailment, revenue growth and functional restructuring.
On plant performance, Cabinet receives reports on the implementation of the nine-point recovery programme which aims to fast-track improvement in generation performance and plant availability. Under this programme coal stock days have improved and are currently above the required minimum of 20 days. Government has taken bold steps to shore up Eskom's finances and also to lay the basis for longer-term sustainability. This is necessary because Eskom does not generate sufficient cash from operations to cover its interest payments, debt repayments and capital expenditure requirements. Eskom's financial challenges are mainly due to unsustainable operating costs caused by expensive coal contracts, high headcount, overall operating inefficiencies, high debt service costs, corruption in procurement and the excessive cost of the construction of Medupi and Kusile.
In the Budget Speech in February 2019, the Minister of Finance allocated R69 billion to Eskom over the next three financial years. In July, the Minister of Finance presented a Special Appropriation Bill for additional funding of R59 billion for the 2019-20 and 2020- 21 financial years to further assist with the going concern situation of Eskom and other financial challenges. Government has proposed a range of conditions to be imposed on Eskom in order to receive this additional funding. These conditions establish certain requirements with respect to the entity's finances, operations and governance.
It is broadly accepted that Eskom's current structure is outdated. As announced in the February 2019 state of the nation address, Eskom is in the process of being restructured into three separate subsidiaries. The restructuring of Eskom will be detailed in the Special Paper on Eskom which is planned for release later this month. Over and above the financial recovery, the newly appointed chief restructuring officer is developing potential solutions for Eskom's debt. The process to appoint a new group CEO will also soon be concluded. The board of directors of Eskom will be strengthened with additional members with the relevant technical expertise to lead the turnaround strategy for Eskom. Much progress has been made to stabilise Eskom since the load shedding earlier this year. With
the publication of the Special Paper on Eskom and the implementation of its recommendations, we will shift from crisis management to sustainable recovery for Eskom. I thank you. [Applause.]