Eskom’s murky deals exposed

SUSPICIOUS: TIMING OF PAYMENT TO GUPTAS’ OAKBAY

Business rescue practitioner blew whistle on power utility in July.

Abusiness rescue practitioner told the parliamentary inquiry into Eskom yesterday that the power utility agreed to pay Tegeta almost R600 million in advance for coal on the same day it became clear that the Gupta-affi liated company was short of that same sum to purchase the Optimum coal mine.

“I think the timing looked suspicious, it certainly did not look fantastic,” Piers Marsden told parliament’s committee on public enterprises of the meeting at which Eskom agreed to the advance payment.

Marsden said on April 11 last year, just two days before Tegeta was due to pay R2.15 billion for the Optimum coal mine, he was contacted by the former CEO of the Guptas’ Oakbay company, Nazeem Howa.

Howa said Tegeta was R600 million short and asked him to source funding from a consortium of banks, who declined.

However, the money was paid on April 14.

Marsden blew the whistle in July after watching an episode of Carte Blanche in which the now suspended acting CEO of Eskom, Matshela Koko, revealed that the company paid Tegeta R586 million in advance for coal supplies.

He said he contacted the Hawks and deposed two affidavits, but it was only on Thursday last week that he was again contacted by the elite police unit and told a new investigating officer had been assigned to the case.

Marsden also told the inquiry that Eskom had taken a particularly hard line towards negotiations with Glencore, describing his experience of Eskom management after Brian Molefe became CEO in 2015 as a “hornet’s nest”.

It was clear that Eskom would not accept a deal that did not involve a change of shareholder and was adamant that a fine it had imposed of R2.1 billion for poor coal quality needed to be honoured. But he believed it was an issue that could have been arbitrated and the fine could have been reduced.

“Glencore would have had the stomach to fight,” he said.

Marsden said at the time of negotiations Eskom’s stance passed “commercial muster” but the picture grew murky as months passed and more facts came to light.

The inquiry continues. – ANA