Koko opens can of worms

Suspended Eskom interim chief executive Matshela Koko this week testified at his disciplinary hearing that his efforts to fight corruption at Kusile made him the target of a smear article in the Sunday Times, which directly led to his suspension.

Koko, a chemical engineer who has spent his working life at Eskom, testified that Eskom staff and executives colluded to manipulate contracts at Kusile and took bribes in the process.

This resulted in huge cost overruns that the public has to pay for. He said National Treasury did not pick up on it because it accepted “the story” Eskom told it.

Koko said he is the only executive at Eskom who was involved in the construction of the Majuba power station, which was Eskom’s last big building project before Medupi and Kusile.

The designs for Medupi and Kusile are similar to that of Majuba, he said. Majuba was built with a peak labour force of 5 000 and he asked how the comparative number at Kusile could be 19 000.

Koko said he went to see then Eskom group chief executive Brian Molefe and told him that “competent contractors at Kusile are rendered incompetent”. Their contracts were then “de-scoped” and given to the friends of Eskom executives, he told Molefe, who asked for proof.

Koko said Siemens was one such company that fell victim to the scheme. “These guys take Siemens. They create strikes and unrest that cause Siemens not to perform.” He said there was a series of de-scopes at Kusile, resulting in delay upon delay and ballooning staff numbers. “And nobody has the balls to stop it!” he testified.