Minister puts SABS board, CEO on notice

The failure of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) board to act timeously on an irregular certificate it issued on behalf of a Gupta-owned Tegeta mine is one of the reasons the government wants to suspend its board.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies gave the SABS board members, including CEO Boni Mehlomakulu, a notice of intention to suspend them and to place the entity under administration. They have until Friday to respond to the minister.

Mehlomakulu said she would resign only if the allegations against her were found to be true by a court.

SABS allegedly issued an irregular certificate of approval of noncompliant coal delivered by Tegeta’s Brakfontein Mine to Eskom. It has emerged that a Tegeta employee was present at the SABS testing station in August 2015 when the certificate of approval was issued. Third parties are not allowed during testing procedures.

Earlier in 2018, former head of Eskom generation Matshela Koko justified the acceptance of noncompliant coal on the basis that it had been given a certificate of approval by the SABS.

“The preliminary information presented to us by the SABS shows that there was a clear breach of established protocols and that the tests conducted for the Brakfontein coal was ‘irregular’ in a number of respects,” the department’s directorgeneral, Lionel October, said.

These breaches included the fact that samples were delivered on a Saturday night with a request that tests be run immediately. Three samples were delivered directly to the laboratory and there was no independent verification that the samples came from the mine concerned. The normal process is to source the sample independently from the mine.

October told MPs: “There is now clear evidence of serious misconduct on the part of both Mr Koko and SABS officials in

that an unauthorised and defective test certificate was issued by SABS and used by Mr Koko for an improper purpose.

“SABS acted in a dishonest and hostile manner by impeding the investigation undertaken by the National Treasury into the SABS test reports.”

October said that the SABS board and CEO had failed to act despite being aware of the SABS and Eskom collaboration since September 13 2015.

SABS chairman Jeff Molobela said the forensic investigation requested by Davies in February had got under way 10 days ago.

The delay had been caused by the department, which took a month to issue a request for proposal to procure the services for a forensic investigator.