PARLIAMENT – President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday insisted that Eskom could not make public the terms of its R33 billion loan from the China Development Bank but said forfeiture of assets in case of default did no figure among these.
Responding to a question from the DA in the National Council of Provinces, Ramaphosa stressed that the loan was underwritten by government guarantees.
"Among other things, this means that no Eskom assets have been used as security for the loan, and the China Development Bank is not entitled to any direct or indirect ownership of Eskom assets," he said.
Eskom has declined to publish the terms of the loan, saying it would reveal sensitive information that would compromise its ability to secure further debt in the market.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has submitted a request to the embattled power utility in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act for the full terms of the loan.
Ramaphosa went on to accuse the official opposition party of being "prejudiced against China" and said the government guarded the assets of its parastatals jealously.