FF Plus will ask Companies Commission to investigate Eskom and former directors’ mismanagement

18 April 2018

The FF Plus is busy preparing an application for the Companies Commission to make findings on how Eskom and its directors transgressed the Companies Act, as over the past few years there were numerous incidents of mismanagement that have now come to light.

This is done against the backdrop of Eskom admitting that it does not have enough coal to generate electricity.

Experts like the energy consultant Ted Blom suspect that nearly R1 300 billion was lost at Eskom over the last few years due to state capture and corruption (Network24, 16 April 2018). And yet Eskom is now trying to persuade the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to allow it to collect a further R67 billion in order to remain operational.

The FF Plus will use the evidence that Blom presented during the parliamentary portfolio committee of Public Enterprise’s investigation into state capture in its application.

Amongst other things, Blom pointed out that there was immense overspending with the capital projects at Medupi, Kusile and Ingula. According to him, the cost overrun at Medupi amounts to R100 billion, at Kusile R30 billion and R2 million at Ingula.

The FF Plus will also ask the Companies Commission to use the information to prepare an application for the Companies Tribunal to take disciplinary steps against Eskom and to declare the directors who had a hand in the decay as incompetent to serve as the directors of any company. 

The extent of the squandering that took place over the last few years is simply shocking. What is even more shocking is that to date no one has accounted for it nor has anyone been charged.

Eskom is now asking tax payers to reach even deeper into their pockets to throw money into this bottomless pit of squandering, which has possibly swallowed more than R100 billion over the last few years.

Issued by Anton Alberts, FF Plus chairperson and parliamentary spokesperson: Trade and Industry, 18 April 2018