4.4 Comments and questions The Committee raised the following questions and concerns: . Concern was raised at whether the funding that had been secured for seven years, would be sufficient and what would happen beyond that time. . Why was the introduction of independent power producers occurring at such a slow pace and what progress had been made? . What contract did Eskom have with municipalities and why could Eskom not distribute to the end user? . The Committee made a plea to Eskom not to list household consumers with the credit bureau for failing to pay, but rather to look at other remedial actions. . Clarity was sought on the circumstances surrounding the protest actions in Soweto. What difficulties was Eskom experiencing with municipalities that were not paying their accounts? Which provinces and municipalities were defaulting? . Clarity was sought on the impact of the high tarrifs on the construction of the Medupi power station and concern was raised regarding the costs of the construction being more expensive than other countries. . Which category of the 4.5 million customers was supplied directly by Eskom and what benefits did they have? . Clarity was sought on the problem of the quality of coal and the reasons why contractors could not meet their deadlines. . Concern was raised regarding the impact of the high cost of electricity on the poor and clarity sought on who the biggest culprits of electricity theft were. . How visible was the top leadership of Eskom to the local branches, customers and communities and how would that improve going forward? . How did Eskom incur fruitless expenditure of R17 million and what steps were taken to recover the loss? . Eskom was commended for having concluded negotiations to end special pricing contracts. Clarity was sought on whether there were any contracts outstanding? . How far was Eskom with rural electrification, and what problems were experienced with farmers and municipalities in advancing this project? . Clarity was sought on the number of offenders prosecuted for stealing electricity. . Until when would the citizenry pay for Eskom's debts? Was the debt strategy the best strategy going forward?