Eskom denies procurement claims

ESKOM has dismissed a claim made in an affidavit that it managed “to usurp the nuclear procurement from the Department of Energy”.

Eskom divisional executive of corporate affairs Chose Choeu was commenting on Friday on a supplementary affidavit made by Earthlife Africa’s Johannesburg branch coordinator Makoma Lekalakala.

Choeu claimed he had been either “grossly misconstrued” or the affidavit was part of “a deliberate story … written to cast Eskom and the nuclear new build in a negative light”.

The supplementary affidavit was submitted to the Western Cape High Court in support of the case brought by the antinuclear lobby group and the Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (Safcei) to have two determinations made by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson declared unlawful.

The 2016 determination designates Eskom as the procurer of 9 600MW from new nuclear energy plants.

In her affidavit Lekalakala refers to a statement made by Department of Energy director- Thabane Zulu, who said legal advice obtained by Joemat-Pettersson indicated that Eskom’s consent was legally required if the department was to procure the nuclear build on its behalf, which it would have to implement.

But Choeu insisted it was “not within the realm of possibilities for Eskom to grant permission”. — TMG