Molefe defends Eskom stance

– Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe yesterday denied that the power utility had failed to cooperate with National Treasury in its probe into the state-owned entity’s coal contracts, and at the same time again defended doing business with a company owned by the controversial Gupta family.

Briefing parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises, Molefe said Eskom submitted documents related to its contract with the Gupta-controlled mining company Tegeta Exploration and Resources to Treasury on Tuesday, after an instruction from Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.

“The documents were delivered to Treasury,” said Molefe. “They have been signed by someone at Treasury as received. This morning, the CFO wrote a letter to Kenneth Brown [Treasury chief procurement office] to ask if there’s anything outstanding.”

Molefe denied not cooperating with Treasury, saying the information requested in April was ready, but had not been signed off by the board as required by Treasury. The next board meeting was only scheduled for September, he said.

“We were supposed to wait for the board to consider the information. We were shocked and perplexed to read in the Sunday Times we are not cooperating.”

Molefe rubbished allegations that Eskom spent over R130 million on substandard coal from Tegeta.

“The issue of substandard coal has no basis. That coal was tested at South African Bureau of Standards [SABS],” he said, adding that employees had been suspended for classifying the coal as substandard when, in fact, the SABS had found differently.

Molefe said until there was a legal basis for them to stop doing business with Tegeta and the Guptas, he could not “blacklist” companies owned by the family, believed to have close ties to President Jacob Zuma.

“Not to do business with Tegeta would require us to blacklist them and there is a process in the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] for blacklisting suppliers. In terms of that process we would have to inform them that we cannot do business with them and provide reasons why we should not be able to – and therein lies my problem. I do not know what the reasons are, other than gossip and innuendo,” he said.

“Until we can get a reason to blacklist them, if they bid for a transaction, if they apply to do work with us, we must consider it.”– ANA

The issue of substandard coal has no basis. That coal was tested at South African Bureau of Standards.

Brian Molefe Eskom chief executive