Eskom misleading the public over Areva tender
09 March 2016
Remarks by Eskom spokesperson, Khulu Phasiwe, appear to be a blatant attempt to avoid having to implement a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision setting aside a tender awarded to Areva by Eskom for the construction of steam generators for Koeberg.
Phasiwe stated in January 2016 that the work on the generators is 50% complete and that it would not make sense to reissue the tender. Industry experts, however, have noted that this is highly unlikely given that construction only commenced about September last year.
The alleged progress made in the past 6 months is further at odds with Areva’s previous statements that they would not meet the 2018 deadline for completion of the generators if the contract award is delayed.
One can only deduce that Eskom is doing everything possible to avoid having to reopen tender process that landed Areva with the contract over the preferred bidder, Westinghouse, in a decision that was overturned by the SCA.
I will therefore write to Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, and request, not withstanding Eskom’s current Constitutional Court challenge, that he clarifies how far construction on the six steam generators has progressed and when Eskom plans to re-open the bid process has required by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Given that the generators are being constructed at Shanghai Electric or SENPEC in China, it is impractical for the Portfolio Committee to conduct an oversight visit. In lieu of this, Molefe must come clean and be open and transparent about why the SCA’s decision has not been implemented.
The SCA found in December that the decision to award the R4 billion to Areva over Westinghouse was procedurally unfair and based on criteria deemed irrelevant by the court. This is a reference to Eskom citing "strategic considerations" for the decision - a smokescreen for political interference.
The SCA’s decision on the Areva tender follows the Hitachi scandal that implicated the ANC’s Chancellor House for receiving payments in exchange for their influence over the awarding of Eskom contracts. Both the United States Securities Exchange Commission and the African Development Bank found evidence of political interference in the awarding of tenders for the Medupi build, by Eskom.
It is patently evident that there is large scale corruption in the awarding of tenders by Eskom, with the Areva debacle the most recent evidence of Eskom’s attempts to avoid accountability for their actions.
Given that Eskom’s Molefe recently stated that Eskom would be involved in funding the nuclear build, this is a recipe for disaster with a door for corruption having been opened wider.
Statement issued by Gordon MacKay MP, DA Shadow Minister of Energy, 9 March 2016
