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· Construction majors ABB South Africa, Stefanutti Stocks and Basil Read Joint Venture, as well as Tubular Construction Projects did figure in the names revealed by Eskom as some of the contractors that benefited from overpayments aggregating R4 billion in the construction of Kusile power station.
· The SIU is in the process of finalizing its own investigation. Towards that, a number of meetings were held during 2019 and 2020
· Eskom has been crippled by many operational challenges, such as servicing cost of its infrastructure, rising costs associated with the construction of Kusile and Medupi power stations, etc.
Construction majors ABB South Africa, Stefanutti Stocks and Basil Read Joint Venture, as well as Tubular Construction Projects did figure in the names revealed by Eskom as some of the contractors that benefited from overpayments aggregating R4 billion in the construction of Kusile power station. This information is contained in
a letter written by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina. The letter was written on 6 June 2020.
This coal-fired facility of Eskom has been marred by massive cost and time overruns. There are also serious charges of corruption involving senior Eskom officials, which is being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
Earlier, Eskom has deposed before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations that ABB, Stefanutti Stocks and Basil Read JV, as well as Stefanutti Stocks Izazi JV and Tubular Construction received an R1
billion in overpayment. Tenova Mining and Minerals, Eskom pointed out, received R735 million.
The SIU is in the process of finalizing its own investigation. Towards that, a number of meetings were held during 2019 and 2020. Those meetings discussed the process for establishing the value of the over payment made to ABB and other parties involved. ABB also had agreed to pay back approximately R240 million to compensate for the illegalpayments received by the company from Eskom.
Eskom has been crippled by many operational challenges, such as servicing cost of its infrastructure, rising costs associated with the construction of Kusile and Medupi power stations, etc. Consulting firm Deloitte also is involved in the deal and it has agreed to pay back R150 million to Eskom. Eskom is also demanding PwC to pay back the R95 million it received in consulting fees. The power utility has incurred a R450 billion in debt. It also wants
