AfriForum takes legal action against Eskom over contract information

17 January 2023 

The civil rights organisation AfriForum has taken legal action against Eskom to obtain information regarding the power supplier’s controversial contracts. On 12 July 2022, AfriForum served an application on Eskom in terms of The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). The PAIA application demanded information on active contracts that Eskom has with various service providers, including coal suppliers and transport companies.

Eskom responded to this application, but key information was redacted and withheld from AfriForum. The civil rights organisation filed an internal appeal on 28 September 2022 and pointed out that Eskom did not provide an adequate explanation of why the information was withheld. Therefore, AfriForum argued that Eskom did not comply with the The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). Eskom, however, did not respond to the internal appeal, forcing AfriForum to take legal action to obtain a court order obliging Eskom to release said information.

“Eskom’s failure is causing incalculable damage to the country. That is why AfriForum is fighting in court for transparency and so that the information about Eskom’s contracts is made public. If AfriForum succeeds with the application and any irregularities are found, action will be taken against Eskom in the strictest possible way,” says Reiner Duvenage, Campaign Officer for Strategy and Content.

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Issued by Reiner Duvenage, Campaign Officer: Strategy and Content, AfriForum, 17 January 2023