Zimbabwe pays R139m of its debt to Eskom, proof of payment posted on Twitter

Zimbabwe’s minister of energy and power development Fortune Chasi has posted proof of a R139m payment to Eskom on social media.

This comes after Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe announced last week that Zimbabwe had failed to pay the power utility its outstanding debt.

In the statement that was sent out last week, the power utility said that payment of Zimbabwe's debt had not yet reflected in Eskom’s account.

“Eskom would like to state that no funds have reflected on its accounts for Zimbabwe’s outstanding debt as at 28 June at 15h00. This is in response to the announcement made in Zimbabwe and queries that Eskom is receiving regarding this issue. 

“Once Eskom has received the funds, we will then enter into further discussions with Zesa [Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority],” the statement read.

In a tweet posted earlier on Tuesday morning, Chasi said: “Lies have short legs. This is what I lied about. I am sorry:”

Sowetan's sister publication The Sunday Times had previously reported that Zimbabwe owes about $80m to Eskom and Mozambique’s HCB power company.