Pension fund of former Eskom’s contracts manager to remain frozen pending conclusion of SIU investigations

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomes the Special Tribunal order to dismiss, with costs, an application to reconsider a preservation order to preserve pension benefits of former Eskom contracts manager, Dudu Moyo. Moyo applied to have the preservation order, that was granted to the SIU, to be reconsidered.

The 2 February 2022 order comes after the SIU successfully applied to have pension benefits of Moyo frozen in September last year pending the conclusion of its investigations, after she resigned from Eskom when the Unit started asking questions relating to contracts, she was managing at two of Eskom’s power stations.

The SIU investigation revealed that Moyo unlawfully benefitted R24 584 000 from a multimillion-rand contract to transport water from Kendal Power Station to Kusile Power Station. The contract was signed with a company called Tamukelo. Moyo signed 23 payment certificates for Tamukelo between December 2011 and July 2014, at a cost of approximately R138-million.

Furthermore, the SIU probe revealed that Tamukelo and its representatives paid entities linked or associated with Moyo, whilst she negotiated and managed Eskom's contract with Tamukelo. The modus operandi employed by Moyo was to create structures of entities owned by members of her family and friends to receive these funds. There was a clear conflict of interest in that, she received these funds in circumstances where part of her duties and functions as Middle Management. Moyo was also part of a team that presented the negotiation strategy of the Tamukelo tender worth R300 million to the tender and procurement committee.

Moyo also deceived Eskom and repeatedly made fraudulency misrepresentation, declaring that there was no conflict of interest when dealing with Tamukelo and other role players for five years when signing Eskom’s annual declaration of Conflict Interest Policy.

In another matter relating to Moyo, the High Court Gauteng Division, Pretoria, granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the SIU a preservation order to freeze a luxury property in Silver Lakes Estates, Pretoria, - a Mercedes Benz Viano, and Chevrolet Utility that belong to Moyo and her husband Mmoloki Moyo in November 2022.

The SIU was, in terms of Proclamation R11 of 2018, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of Eskom and the conduct of Eskom officials and to recover any financial losses suffered by the State.

The civil litigation steps that the SIU has taken against Moyo is part of the SIU’s implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by State institutions and/or to prevent further losses.

Issued by Kaizer Kganyago, SIU Spokesperson, 13 February 2023