IT’S MALICIOUS TO SUGGEST THAT ESKOM IS STILL PAYING THE GUPTAS

THE ARTICLE headlined “Eskom paid more than R1bn to Guptas” (Business Report, yesterday) refers.

A cursory glance at the article seems to suggest a veiled attack on the credibility of former Eskom interim chief executive Matshela Koko and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane.

I cannot speak for them, but I certainly can speak for Eskom and myself.

The article incorrectly states that “Eskom paid R705 million to Optimum since March, because of contractual obligations”.

It sets the scene by stating that “Eskom has paid the Gupta-owned mine nearly R1 billion this year for coal it has not received.”

The headline and the first few paragraphs suggest that Eskom, even under the new management and the board, continues to pay the Guptas for nothing. This narrative is baseless, misleading and malicious.

In my discussion with your reporter, I said Optimum Coal Mine had stopped supplying Eskom with coal since March this year, and that until that time Eskom was paying it R150 a ton – the same amount it was paying Glencore, the previous owners of that mine.

I then said Eskom made it clear to Tegeta, the new owners of Optimum Coal Mine, that the contract they were acquiring from Glencore would remain unchanged in terms of the quantity and quality of coal, pricing and duration. It is not clear to me how the journalist thought Eskom was still paying Tegeta, even though Tegeta was defaulting on its coal supply agreement.

Even if Eskom wanted to pay Tegeta, how would it transact with the company since it is now common knowledge that Tegeta had previously indicated that its bank accounts had been closed, and that no bank wanted to do business with it!