Wa Afrika threatened for Eskom coverage
Eskom-linked firm ‘donated’ R1.7m to ruling party
THE Sunday Times this week received credible information that the life of its investigative journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika could be in danger because of his reporting on the lucrative tenders Eskom has awarded to Impulse International.
He was also told his home was being watched and that an attempt to smear him would be made.
Wa Afrika has signed an affidavit detailing the threats and the results of an investigation into the identities of some of the people behind them.
Sunday Times editor Bongani Siqoko said: “We are concerned and that is why we are telling you, our readers, about this.
“Times Media Group, owners of the Sunday Times, have taken a decision to provide him and his family with 24-hour security. We just cannot take any chances.
“What is of huge concern to us is the fact that this is not an isolated case. Journalists in this country are increasingly finding it harder to do their jobs.
“Just this past week, there were two reported incidents of journalists being attacked or blocked from doing their jobs. This should be of concern to every South African.”
On March 26, Wa Afrika wrote that Impulse International, a Fourways-based company in which the stepdaughter of Eskom boss Matshela Koko was a director, raked in contracts worth about R1-billion from the stateowned power utility.
Choma, 26, who graduated as a chartered accountant three years ago, was appointed a director at Impulse International in April last year.
Over the 11 months following her appointment as a director, the company was awarded eight contracts from a division of Eskom that Koko headed until he was appointed acting CEO in December.
At the time the story was published, Koko told the Sunday Times he was not aware Choma was part of Impulse International and that he had ordered her to resign from the company after he became aware of her relationship with it.
Choma told the Sunday Times that she “didn’t benefit . . . from my shareholding. I did not receive any dividends”.
On April 9, the Sunday Times reported how Koko and Impulse International CEO Pragasen Pather had called each other 52 times while Choma worked for the company.
Wa Afrika reveals in the Sunday Times today that Choma lied and received R16-million from the company late last year. Wa Afrika also reports that Impulse donated R1.7-million to the ANC for its birthday bash in January.
A COMPANY that scored nearly R2-billion in Eskom tenders paid R1.7-million in two instalments into a bank account believed to belong to the ANC.
One of the payments was made three days before the ruling party’s January 8 birthday bash this year, which was held at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
An insider claimed that the first payment into the ANC account was made after treasurergeneral Zweli Mkhize pleaded with Impulse International CEO Pragasen Pather to rescue the party, saying it was struggling to pay the bills for the annual birthday bash.
The engineering and project management company paid R1million into the account, named ANC TG Funds, on January 5.
A day after the bash, Impulse secured a R14.2-million contract with Eskom.
On January 11, two days after securing the contract, the company deposited R775 000 into the same account.
The payments shine a spotlight on the murky issue of how political parties secure funding.
A former Impulse International employee confirmed seeing a letter from the ANC thanking the company for its donation. “The letter was on an ANC letterhead and signed by . . . Mkhize. It was sent to Impulse International sometime in February,” said the ex-employee, who asked not to be named.
A senior ANC source said the payment was not unusual.
“A lot of people have been forced to make donations to the ANC via that ANCTG account, and some of them have been complaining that they don’t even get a letter of acknowledgement for their contributions after depositing money into that account.”
ANC spokeswoman Khusela Sangoni said yesterday that the party was not aware of any donation from Impulse International. “As a matter of principle, we do not accept any donations that are proceeds of crime. We will look into the veracity of these allegations.” If such monies had been received “then we will act to rectify the situation”.
Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said it was time lawmakers passed bills that would make the funding of political parties transparent.
“There are question marks on how the contracts were acquired by Impulse and how the same company makes donations PLEADING POVERTY: ANC treasurer Zweli Mkhize YOUNG AND WEALTHY: Koketso Choma to the ANC. There are reasonable inferences that suggest the contracts might have been bought by funding the ANC,” said Lewis.
The payments to the ANC follow two previous reports about dodgy dealings involving Impulse that have recently been published in the Sunday Times.
The payments to the ANC raise further questions about Eskom’s relationship with Impulse, because new evidence came to light this week that acting CEO Matshela Koko’s stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, received R16-million from the company late last year.
The Sunday Times revealed last month how Eskom awarded Impulse International tenders worth about R1-billion during the nearly six months when Choma worked there.
That report prompted the power utility’s board to institute an investigation.
When the tenders were awarded Koko, who lives with Choma in Bryanston, was Eskom’s group executive for generation and had direct influence on supply chain management, a division that reported to him. He was appointed acting CEO in December.
At the time Choma, 26, who graduated as a chartered accountant three years ago, denied benefiting from the tenders awarded to Impulse.
“I did not benefit financially from my shareholding. I did not receive any dividends . . . I certainly have not benefited from contracts that were awarded to Impulse International during my time there,” she said.
But the Sunday Times was able to establish this week that Impulse International paid Choma R16-million through Ukwakhiwa Investments.
The company, in which she is listed as the sole director, was registered days before Choma joined Impulse International on April 1 last year.
Impulse made the following payments: R2-million on October 22, R10-million on November 3, R2-million on November 24 and R2-million on December 9.
Koko claimed he “forced” Choma to resign from Impulse in October after he became aware that she was a director at the company.
When the first story about Impulse broke, Koko said he did not know Pather. But in a second story this month, the Sunday Times revealed that phone records showed the two men had exchanged 52 calls between April and November last year.
Impulse International has secured seven contracts with Eskom and two sub-contracts, dating back to 2014 and amounting to almost R2-billion.
Impulse International also secured another contract valued at 42.3-million on January 1.
Pather refused to comment this week about the payments made to the ANC and Choma. “We don’t have any comment because we have been advised not to comment,” he said.
Eskom board spokesman Khulani Qoma also refused to answer specific questions, citing the ongoing investigation.
Asger Gani, Choma’s lawyer, said Choma had been advised not to comment.
A lot of people have been forced to make donations via that ANCTG account