This is an important achievement that brings up many new challenges. This achievement is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for achieving further growth. We need to ensure that these professional women and men are supported and brought to drive the core activities of the utility. We have said that Eskom relate to every aspect of our people's lives. It is electricity that drive the machines of our industries, switch millions of homes in our communities, provide the light for our students to do their work, etc.
Energy is therefore indispensable to creating better living conditions for the people.
It is a challenge to all of us to make it accessible to the majority of black people in general. I am aware that a further R300m was spent on the electrification of schools and clinics and on other community development activities during this period. Again, our approach to restructuring informs us that well run and efficient state- owned enterprises will be in a better position to meet the development and global challenges facing our society. The achievements of the past six years speak for themselves in terms of black economic empowerment. It remains our commitment to use effectively the procurement of SOE to ensure that they contribute to the realisation of the goals of BEE, and facilitate development.