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On June 8, commencing at 5:00 p.m., Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with the Honourable Dr. Naledi PANDOR, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, for approximately 15 minutes. The overview is as follows.

Minister Pandor explained African leaders' initiative for peace in Ukraine. In response, Minister Hayashi expressed his respect for African leaders' efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine and stated as Japan's position that Russia's aggression against Ukraine is a clear violation of international law and just and lasting peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved without the withdrawal of Russia from Ukraine.

In addition, the two Ministers confirmed that they would continue their dialogue to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and agreed to continue working closely together to further develop the bilateral relationship between Japan and South Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

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The outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease in Equatorial Guinea ended today with no new cases reported over the past 42 days after the last patient was discharged from treatment.

The outbreak, which was declared on 13 February, was the first of its kind in Equatorial Guinea. A total of 17 laboratory-confirmed cases and 12 deaths were recorded. All the 23 probable cases reported died. Four patients recovered from the virus and have been enrolled in a survivors programme to receive psychosocial and other post-recovery support.

Five districts in four of Equatorial Guinea's eight provinces were affected. Bata district in the western Litoral province was worst-hit, with 11 laboratory-confirmed cases reported. Among the reported cases, many were closely linked either through social gatherings and networks, or geographically.

“While outbreak-prone diseases continue to pose a major health threat in Africa, we can bank on the region's growing expertise in health emergency response to act quickly and decisively to safeguard health and avert widespread loss of life,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

“The hard work by Equatorial Guinea's health workers and support by partner organizations has been crucial in ending this outbreak. WHO continues to work with countries to improve measures to detect and respond effectively to disease outbreaks,” Dr Moeti said.

To support Equatorial Guinea's response to the just-ended outbreak, WHO deployed experts in epidemiology, clinical management, health operations, logistics, risk communications and infection prevention and control. The Organization worked with the health authorities to set up a treatment centre, provided medical supplies including antivirals and trained health workers in the key aspects of outbreak control. WHO also supported the efforts by the authorities in neighbouring Cameroon and Gabon to ramp up outbreak readiness and response.

Although the outbreak has ended, WHO is continues to work with Equatorial Guinea to maintain measures such as surveillance and testing to enable prompt action should flare-ups of the virus occur, with the training provided during the outbreak helping to strengthen readiness capacity.

Marburg is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola Virus Disease. The Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.

In Africa, the first outbreak of Marburg was recorded in South Africa in 1975, followed by two others in Kenya in the 1980s. Since then outbreaks have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea and Uganda, and most recently Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Equatorial Guinea.

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The Minister of Finance has determined that Eskom not be granted a partial exemption from section 55(2)(b)(i) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), (Act No. 1 of 1999 – the Act) and Treasury Regulation 28.2.1, from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and material losses from criminal conduct in its annual financial statements.

The Minister recognises the commitment of the Eskom board and management to fight and expose fraud and corruption, and the additional compliance and reporting burden facing Eskom and other State-Owned Entities (SOEs). However, it is the view of the Minister that Eskom needs to do more operationally to reduce the scope of fraud and corruption before such exemption can be considered, and for it to be effective. and the commitment of the Eskom board and management to fight and expose fraud and corruption, As Eskom attempts to recover from the devastating impact of state capture, and take steps against past and current corruption, it needs to ensure that its anti-corruption strategy is credible and has the support of key stakeholders like investors, lenders, suppliers, customers, and the public.

The National Treasury has engaged with the Auditor-General and considered all public comments received through Government Gazette General Notice No. 3270 of 6 April 2023 which withdrew the Government Gazette General Notice No. 3247 of 31 March 2023 and invited public comments on a proposed exemption for Eskom. In total, fifty-six (56) comments were received, with twenty-three (23) comments received in formal correspondence and thirty-three (33) comments received through emails, covering a broad spectrum of accounting and reporting, auditing, governance, legal principles, and public interest issues have been duly considered. The National Treasury also engaged with audit firms, professional auditing and accounting bodies, a rating agency, and other relevant authorities to discuss the challenges and seemingly onerous compliance reporting requirements applicable to State-Owned Entities such as Eskom.

Although irregular expenditure does not automatically equate to fraud and corruption, many comments submitted view irregular expenditure as an indicator of how SOEs are managing their finances. Accounting and auditing experts noted that SOEs are currently subject to more onerous accounting and reporting standards than commercial companies, as they are required to comply with both the PFMA and the Companies Act, as well as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and JSE Debt Listing Requirements. In addition, as part of the Eskom debt relief arrangement, the Minister of Finance has instituted additional reporting obligations on Eskom, which the entity will be required to submit to Parliament and oversight structures. The extensive PFMA reporting requirements makes it more onerous for a State-Owned Entity compared to a listed company to have its financial statements qualified, even when there is no financial mismanagement or corruption.

Decision of ESKOM's Partial Exemption

This in turn has the perverse effect of making SOEs more likely to require funding, or a guarantee, from the fiscus.

Whilst Treasury remains committed to promoting the principles of stronger accountability and transparency in all financial matters, as it has done since 1994, it also recognises the need to support and strengthen Eskom and other SOEs in reversing the effects of state capture, making them more agile and responsive to their constitutional mandates and begin to play a more significant role in the economy, contributing to economic growth, and reducing their dependency on the fiscus. In doing this, the National Treasury remains committed to upholding the highest standards of financial governance in the management of Eskom's finances and not compromising the ethos of the PFMA. Treasury will continue to assist Eskom to strengthen its mechanisms to prevent, detect and investigate any financial irregularities, and ensure that acts of fraud and corruption are fully and properly reported, regardless of the reporting requirements.

The National Treasury remains of the view that SOEs are facing legitimate technical challenges regarding compliance reporting, and the need to differentiate between corrupt and suspicious transactions and expenditure made in good faith but not necessarily complying with the plethora of financial and non-financial laws and rules. The comments from professional bodies and experts provide the basis for further engagement on the accounting and compliance reporting challenges, and to assist in developing a better framework for compliance reporting in SOEs. The National Treasury is committed to collaborating further with relevant stakeholders and authorities to contribute to these reforms and ensure that the PFMA adequately addresses the complexities of financial reporting in the public sector.

Treasury will also continue to work with the Auditor-General to develop a revised irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure framework to form part of the PFMA reforms and address these and other financial and compliance reporting challenges, which will be finalised after an appropriate consultation process, for implementation in 2024 and after. It will be critical for the country that state-owned entities are not dependent on fiscal allocations and guarantees for their capital and operational funding requirements.

The National Treasury extends its appreciation to all comments, and parties consulted with for their useful comments and engagements regarding the proposed Eskom exemption. The list of commentators is enclosed as Annexure A to this Media Statement.

For any inquiries: send an email to Cleopatra Mosana at media@treasury.gov.za(link sends e-mail).

List of Commentators

Title Received Representation  Name and surname not provided 2023/04/18 

• Trudy Vance 2023/04/17
• Dr. Paul Kariuki 2023/04/17 Civil society, Local Government Advocacy and Learning Network (LGALN) 
• Anthony Savides 2023/04/12
• Christo van Dyk 2023/04/12 
• Anthony Eades 2023/04/11
• Ntombifuthi Geraldine Sibisi 2023/04/11 
• Lindo Mavuso 2023/04/07
• Martin Brown 2023/04/18 
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/18
• Dave McGlashan 2023/04/17 
• Heleen Rossouw 2023/04/17
• Laetitia Knoetze 2023/04/17 
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/17
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/17 
• Dawn Baldwin 2023/04/17
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/18
• Wayne Duvenage 2023/04/19 Outa 
• Tyla Dallas 2023/04/19
• FW de Klerk Foundation 21 Sandra Van Hoogstraten 2023/04/19 
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/21
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/21
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/20
•  Wouter Wessels, MP 2023/04/20 VF Plus 26
• Melanie Roy 2023/04/21
• Bernard Agulhas 2023/04/21 
• Khaya Sithole 2023/04/22
• Corusca Consulting (Pty) Ltd 29
• Benjamin Cronin 2023/04/22 
• Silindile Kubheka 2023/04/21
• Transnet Title Received Representation
• Rina Kersten 2023/04/21 
• Mxolisi Makhubo 2023/04/21
• African Transformation Movement 
• natashia Soopal 2023/04/21 SAICA 
• Matthew Parks 2023/04/21 COSATU 
• Christopher Fisher 2023/04/21 Helen Suzman Foundation 
• Theuns Du Buisson 2023/04/21Solidarity 
• Premier Western Cape (Alan Winde) 2023/04/21 Western Cape Provincial Government 
• Bukelwa Nzimande 2023/04/21 Greenpeace  
• Cheri-lee.dlamini 2023/04/21 Individual 
• Kganki Matabane 2023/04/21 Black Business Council  
• Siyabonga Gumede 2023/04/21 
• Khal Khumalo 2023/04/21
• Mohodi Mokoena 2023/04/20 
• Akhona Zasembo 2023/04/20
• Sabelo Sikonela 2023/04/20 
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/21
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/21 
• Sandile Mngadi 2023/04/21
• Name and surname not provided 2023/04/19 
• Sandra van Hoogstraten 2023/04/19
• Sky Trek 2023/04/18 
• Minde Schapiro & Smith Inc. 2023/04/18
• Democratic Alliance 53 Shivonne Lloyd 2023/04/18 
• Gavin Smith 2023/04/18
• Imre Nagy 2023/04/21 Public Entity 56
• Tsakani Maluleke 2023/05/18
• (Discussions held 15 April 2023)
• Chapter 9 Institution in terms of the Constitution of SA

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Treasury, Republic of South Africa.