Eskom has confirmed that its internal investigation into diesel procurement and storage contracts is nearing completion, as pressure mounts on the utility for greater transparency across its fuel supply chain.
The probe by Eskom’s newly established Group Investigations and Security Department into the utility’s diesel procurement and storage contracts is part of its ongoing governance, risk and assurance processes.
“Eskom can confirm the investigation is now in its final stages of completion and remains subject to internal governance, legal and assurance processes,” Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said.
“Eskom supports and encourages the reporting of any concerns or alleged wrongdoing through its established whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms and treats all such information with the necessary seriousness and confidentiality.”
AfriForum
Mokwena said Eskom is also aware of the interest expressed by AfriForum and other stakeholders in relation to this matter.
“Given that the matter is still pending, Eskom is not in a position to engage on the details or comment further at this stage. Any updates will be communicated at an appropriate time, in line with applicable legal, governance and regulatory requirements.”
Million lost
Eskom may be losing hundreds of millions of rand every month despite having a forensic report that could help stop the losses, AfriForum alleged in a statement on Tuesday.
The lobby group said the allegation came from a whistleblower it now represents, involving diesel procurement and storage contracts at Eskom, and that it will “expose the corruption and ensure that those implicated are properly investigated and prosecuted.”
Governance failures
According to AfriForum, the matter concerns serious governance failures and corruption in the awarding and management of diesel procurement and storage contracts.
The whistleblower revealed that a forensic report by Itsamaya Holdings made adverse findings against several suppliers,
Findings
Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, Advocate Gerrie Nel, claims Eskom referred the report to a law firm instead of acting on it
“We have become accustomed to the tendency of government and state entities to appoint and fund independent forensic investigators to produce reports, only to appoint lawyers then to set those reports aside when their findings are ‘inconvenient’ to powerful individuals.”
Warning
Nel warned that such conduct amounts to wasteful expenditure, especially where public funds are used to undermine Eskom’s own commissioned report.
Among the irregularities flagged were relaxed bid criteria, prepayments to suppliers without capital, rebate arrangements that enriched suppliers at Eskom’s expense, and double-billing for storage facilities.
Masemola
Drawing parallels to Saps Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s PFMA charges, Nel cautioned:
“It was Masemola’s four‑month delay in acting on a report that placed him in the sights of law enforcement. We accept that Eskom’s Head of Forensics and other accounting officers will not make a similar inexcusable misjudgement.”
Fear
AfriForum said the whistleblower was fearing for their life and livelihood.
“In light of the rampant lawlessness and impunity under which whistleblowers and witnesses are murdered in South Africa, the whistleblower has requested that their identity be withheld.
“They fear not only for their life, but also for their livelihood, given the vindictive conduct of state entities that punish those who expose wrongdoing instead of those who commit it,” the lobby group said.
Coal and diesel contracts
Meanwhile, Eskom is studying a court judgment that dismissed the utility’s appeal against an earlier high court ruling compelling it to disclose contracts for the purchase and transport of coal and diesel.
Last month, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) found that it is in the public interest to disclose the contracts and rejected Eskom’s argument that they are commercially sensitive.
In June 2022, lobby group AfriForum used the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to request Eskom’s electricity supply contracts with neighbouring countries, as well as its coal and diesel purchasing and transport contracts.
Legal battle
Eskom released the cross-border electricity contracts but withheld the coal and diesel agreements, citing commercial sensitivity.
However, AfriForum challenged this in the Pretoria High Court and won in 2024. The high court found that Eskom’s initial and additional reasons for refusing access to the required information “was insufficient and without any merit.”
Eskom appealed to the SCA, but the appeal has now been dismissed, upholding AfriForum’s right to access the contracts.
