Eskom COO Oberholzer cleared of all wrongdoing in payment dispute with Aveng
Friday, 25 September 2020: Following the court’s findings against Eskom on a payment dispute with contractor Aveng Ltd, Eskom approached Advocate Nazir Cassim seeking his counsel on the way forward in his investigation into an employee’s grievance against Eskom’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer.
This court judgement, delivered in the South Gauteng division of the High Court on 11 September 2020, was the only outstanding matter related to the aforementioned grievance.
The employee concerned also made public allegations at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Eskom wishes to set the public record straight.
In his investigation report into the grievance against the COO, Adv. Cassim had directed Eskom to conduct a disciplinary action against the COO on the allegation that he had favoured the interests of Aveng (the applicant in the court case) above those of Eskom by pressuring the employee to settle a R40 million invoice due to the contractor. Adv. Cassim had also advised Eskom to await the outcome of the court case before taking any action.
The High Court ruling has now vindicated the COO’s stance on the payment dispute with Aveng. In a subsequent opinion, Adv. Cassim has cleared Mr Oberholzer of all wrongdoing on this matter, which brings the grievance procedure against the COO to finality.