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ESKOM INQUIRY
REFERENCE BOOK

A Resource for Parliament’s Public Enterprises Inquiry

    Civil Society, Journalists & Engaged Citizens
August 2017

This booklet has been authored by Professor Anton Eberhard and Catrina Godinho
of the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.

Research support was provided by Lauren Hermanus and Jesse Burton.

It is part of the State Capacity Research Project - a group of academics from
research institutions at the Universities of Stellenbosch, Witwatersrand, Cape Town
and Johannesburg.

As academics, our job is to make sense of complex situations and explain these.
We are acutely aware that ongoing revelations of corruption can lead to general
public fatigue but we hope that by joining the dots this booklet will contribute to the
empowerment of civil society, journalists, and concerned members of the general
public, so that they can follow and support the inquiry.
PREFACE
In September 2017, Parliament’s Public Enterprises Committee will begin its inquiry into alleged
manifestations of state capture in three of South Africa’s state owned companies (SOCs): Eskom,
Transnet, and Denel. The Committee will be under considerable pressure to drive a targeted investigation
that ultimately brings to light the information necessary to more fully understand the manner in which
the governance of key institutions may have been repurposed to facilitate large-scale corruption by a
politically connected elite.

The authors of this reference book have set out to provide an independent, accessible, concise, and fact-
based account of some, but not all, of the alleged instances of governance failure and corruption at the
largest SOC - Eskom. The authors hope that a streamlined and objective account of the deeply complex
challenges facing the power utility will be of assistance to the Committee, as well as members of the
general public.

Beyond shedding light on specific instances of wrongdoing – whether through dereliction of duty or
overt corruption, it is hoped that the Committee will also probe higher level structural and governance
questions in order to make recommendations around strengthening and reforming institutions in
the future.

CONTENTS
State of State Capture........................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Setting Sights on Eskom................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Generating Controversy ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Repurposing Eskom Governance.................................................................................................................................................. 6

Koeberg Generators Tender.......................................................................................................................................................... 10

New Age Breakfast Deal...................................................................................................................................................................11

T-Systems...............................................................................................................................................................................................12

Duvha Boiler..........................................................................................................................................................................................13

Gupta coal..............................................................................................................................................................................................14

Squeezing Out the Coal Majors.....................................................................................................................................................18

Trillian..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Impulse....................................................................................................................................................................................................21

Still in the Shadows...........................................................................................................................................................................22

Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................................................24

                                                                                                                                                               Eskom Inquiry Reference Book                        1
STATE OF STATE CAPTURE
    At the start of November 2016, former Public Protector       any claim that reported irregularities are random or
    Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report was made           unconnected – as would be the case with generalised
    public after President Zuma’s legal team withdrew its        corruption or maladministration – has been diminished.
    bid to interdict its release. A turning point, Madonsela’s   Instead, more and more information is coming to light
    report provided the first comprehensive legal analysis       that seems to corroborate claims that a coordinated
    of the alleged systemic corruption being perpetrated         political project of state capture has been underway,
    through state owned companies (SOCs).                        whereby governance structures are systematically
                                                                 repurposed to serve corrupt interests. This is evinced
    Since then, South Africans have witnessed the rallying
                                                                 in the centralisation of decision-making power, the
    of civil society, investigative journalists, academia,
                                                                 hollowing out of executive and oversight competencies
    public leaders and concerned citizens, who have come
    together to further this civic work – including through      by granting top positions in SOCs and Ministries to
    groups such as the South African Council of Churches         inept or corrupt individuals, and the cultivation of fear
    (SACC), the State Capacity Research Project (SCRP),          and mistrust through the establishment of ‘shadow’
    and the Organisation Against Tax Abuse (OUTA).               institutions and lines of accountability. Such a ‘project’
                                                                 would allow for the possibility of grand corruption at the
    From these efforts, an overwhelming and growing              highest level, the full ramifications of which have yet to
    body of evidence - including that contained in the           be felt.
    #guptaleaks – has been built, which indicates that
    the political power vested in the President, certain         Allegations that such practices have been intentionally
    Ministries, and the boards and executives of SOCs has        waged across a range of government institutions and
    been misused to benefit the interests of connected           within SOCs have been levelled, leading the Portfolio
    individuals and entities – most prominently the Gupta        Committee on Public Enterprises to initiate an inquiry
    family. This has been to the detriment of the functioning    into governance failure and the abuse of public
    of Government and those entities within the ambit of         resources at Eskom, Transnet, and Denel.
    state governance.

    By shedding light on the modus operandi of a network
    of implicated individuals and joining the dots between
    examples of known impropriety, the plausibility of

2   Eskom Inquiry Reference Book
SETTING SIGHTS ON ESKOM
Eskom is dominant in the power sector. It generates            which totals around R140 billion per annum (excluding
more than 90 per cent of South Africa’s electricity,           finance costs, depreciation and taxes). The operating
controls the entire national high voltage transmission         budget includes maintenance, refurbishment, staffing
grid, and distributes around half of electricity directly to   costs, consulting and service contracts, but the
consumers, with the remainder going to municipalities.         largest component is for primary energy purchases
Eskom’s assets are valued at R710 billion and its capital      - specifically coal, which is used to generate the bulk
expenditure programme amounts to around R350 billion           of Eskom’s power. It is here that the most blatant
over the next five years.                                      acts of corruption appear to have been perpetrated
                                                               - through the awarding of over-priced coal contracts,
With annual revenues nearly three times that of Transnet
and six times SAA’s, Eskom is by far the largest state         the squeezing out of incumbent coal majors, and the
owned company (SOC) in South Africa. This has made             questionable acquisition of coal mines by the Gupta
the utility vulnerable to corrupt interests.                   family, financed by Eskom.

Currently, Eskom is building amongst the largest coal          Average coal costs are now close to R400 per ton, up
power stations in the world – Medupi and Kusile – each         from R190 per ton in 2011. During load-shedding years,
4800 MW in capacity, and has recently completed                diesel fuel costs for Eskom’s peaker plants were as
the 1332 MW Ingula pumped storage facility. The late           high as R10 billion per annum, also allegedly inflated
commissioning of these power stations contributed              by corruption.
to severe load-shedding in recent years, which has             Burgeoning costs, arguably propelled by rent-seeking
been detrimental to economic growth. In addition,              and corruption, have resulted in electricity tariffs
these power stations have cost more than double their          increasing by more than 400% over the past decade
original budgets. There were more than 40 construction
                                                               while electricity services have deteriorated. The effects
contracts for each power station, none of them in the
                                                               of this on the South African economy and prospects
public domain, with allegations of inflated prices and
                                                               for economic development and transformation hardly
corruption. However, any information that could validate
                                                               need to be stated and reinforce the urgent need for
or disprove these claims has been kept in the dark.
                                                               governance and structural reforms at the utility.
What has come to light, however, is evidence that would
suggest corruption in Eskom’s operating expenditure -

Eskom’s assets, revenue and expenditure 2016/7 (Rands)

 Assets                                                                                                      710 billion

 Capital expenditure                                                                                        55.8 billion

 Revenue                                                                                                     177 billion

 Net operating expenses                                                                                    139.6 billion

 Coal purchases                                                                                              50.1 billion

 Staffing costs                                                                                               33 billion

                                                                            Source: Eskom Annual Financial Report 2017

                                                                                            Eskom Inquiry Reference Book    3
GENERATING CONTROVERSY
        2009–2017                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Governance             Advisory
                                                                                   Respected Public       President                    Minister Gigaba
                                                                  All Eskom       Enterprises Minister      Zuma                         intervenes             Minister                           Glencore invokes                       Coal                   Maintenance/
                 Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga
                resigns having lost President                   procurment        Barbara Hogan dis-      appoints                       in Koeberg             Gigaba                             ‘hardship clause’                                             Repair/
 Jacob Zuma      Zuma’s protection, Eskom                        centralised    missed, having resisted Malusi Gigaba                   Procurement,           overhauls        Zola Tsotsi       on Optimum Coal                         Nuclear                Refurbishment
  becomes         Chair steps down to make Brian Dames          with creation      President Zuma’s        Minister   Duvha                pushing           Eskom Board         becomes         Holding’s coal supply
 President of       Maroga’s resignation      appointed as        of Group      alleged interest in SOC   of Public   Turbine          Westinghouse          - all but two     Chairman of        agreements. Price                       IT & Media             New build
 South Africa      acceptable to the ANC       Eskom CEO        Commercial       Board Appointments      Enterprises destroyed              aside              replaced        Eskom Board        negotiations begin

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Board Tender
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2013                Committee, headed by
      2009                    2009               2010               2010                           2010                   2011              2011                             2011                          2013                    Aug                 Collin Matjila announces
       May                     Nov               July               Sept                           Nov                    March             April                            June                          July                                                IT tender

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Board Tender
                                                                                                                                            Acting CEO Matjila signs R43mil deal                 Zola Tsotsi appoints                                    Committee Paris trip
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2013
             Previous Public               President Zuma            Eskom awards              President Zuma       Matshela Koko                  with Gupta’s New Age                          Collin Matjila Acting                Dec                 sposored by Areva
             Enterprises DG                 signs Nuclear            Koeberg steam             appoints Lynne      takes over Group                                                               CEO Eskom, going                                           Shareholder
            Tshediso Matona                   deal with             generator tender          Brown Minister of      Technology &      Acting CEO Matjila sabotages IT tender contract           against earlier Board
          appointed Eskom CEO              Russian Rostom               to Areva              Public Enterprises      Commercial             that could save Eskom almost R1bn                    recommendation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2014                   Eskom CEO Brian
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   March                  Dames steps down
                               2014
                               Oct                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Duvha Boiler Explodes
                                                 2014                    2014                                                                2014                                                         2014
                                                                               Eskom signs coal contract   Allegedly under
                                                 Sept                    Aug                                                                 May                                                          April
                                                                                   with Gupta owned          pressure from
      Nationwide                                                                Brakfontein - frequent     President Zuma,
    load-shedding        2014
                         Nov            IT tender scrapped, Eskom recieves       extensions of contract   Zola Tsotsi’s Board                Ben Nugubane is                                       CEO Brian Molefe refuses
        begins                            T-Systems (with     R23bn equity        length, coal volumes     suspends four of                 appointed Eskom              Minister Brown           to sign new agreement with               Nationwide load-shedding ends
                                         new connection to bailout & R60bn      and prices, despite coal    its top officials.              Chairman despite          seconds Brian Molefe        Glencore, forcing Optimum
                                          Guptas) contract subordinated loan     not meeting required    Chairman Tsotsi then            allegations of unethical     from Transnet to take          Holdings into business
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Anoj Singh seconded
                                             extended      converted to equity       specifications       pressured to resign            and improper conduct          over as Eskom CEO             rescue later in the year
 Minister Brown flips         2014                                                                                                                                                                                                                     from Transnet, taking
 Eskom Board, 6 of 8          Dec                                                                                                                                                                                                                       over as Eskom CFO
appointments linked to
    Gupta Cabal                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2015                     President Zuma
                                                2015                  2015                                               2015                                                       2015                     2015                  Aug
 Three experienced and                                                                                                                                                                                       May                                          appoints Mosebenzi
                                                Jan                   Feb                                               March                                                       April
  respected top Eskom                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Zwane Minister of
  executives step down                                                                                                                                                                                                               2015                  Mineral Resources
                                 Minister Brown tells     Eskom CEO Brian Molefe                                                         Tegeta              Eskom pays                Tegeta given lucrative                        Sept
                                parliament that Eskom     resigns in the wake of the         Nuclear          Public Protector          transfers       Trillian R495mil for          contracts, relaxed terms
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Minister Brown instructed to
                                  has no contractual        State Capture Report,         Procurement      releases State Capture     funds to buy      consulting services,           on supply agreements,             2015                    appoint Richard Seleke DG of
                                  engagements with        Matshela Koko takes over          shifted to         Report – Eskom           Optimum         including R30.7mil                and on April 13 a              Dec
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Public Enterprises
  Trillian conduts “high-               Trillian                as Acting CEO                Eskom           appears 913 times           14 April           paid 14 April             prepayment of R659mil
level cost benefit analysis                                                                                                                                                                                                                      President Zuma fires Finance
over a two-day period” in                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Minister Nhlanhla Nene,
which Dongfang emerges                                                                                                                                                                                                                             inserting Des van Rooyen
  as the preferred bidder
      for Duvha boiler                         2016                  2016                                 2016                                       2016                                       2016                                         President Zuma appoints Pravin
                                               Dec                   Nov                                  Oct                                        April                                   Starts Jan                                      Gordhan Finance Minister under
     Dongfang awarded                  2017                                                                                                                                                                                                      pressure from the ANC
                                                                        Matshela Koko steps down as          Minister Brown forces                                                     Charles Kalima & Edwin       Gupta’s sell
 tender of R4bn, including             March    Constitutional        Eskom CEO pending investigation         resignation of some                    Anoj Singh admits that             Mabelane suspended          Tegeta coal                Minister Zwane joins Guptas in
   R600mil advance plus
                                             Court rules nuclear           into over R1bn contracts             Board members,        Johnny         Eskom has paid Trillian            and then reinstated in      interests to                Switzerland finalising sale of
R800mil contingency fee –
                                              deal unlawful and        channeled to Impulse, in which        much reduced interim     Dladla          R495mil since 2016               connection with Trillian      connected              Glencore’s Optimun to Tegeta. Flies
R1bn more expensive than
                                             unconstitutional on      his step-daughter was a Director         Board headed by        Acting                                        payments. Eskom admits to          Amin                 back to Dubai on Gupta plane. Other
  internally recommended
                                             procedural grounds           and had a financial iterest          Zethembe Khoza          CEO           Anoj Singh suspended           lying about these payments       Alzarooni               Gupta allies also in Dubai on Gupta
      GE and M&R bids
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             expense, including Koko and Singh

4      Eskom Inquiry Reference Book                                                                                                                                                                                                          Eskom Inquiry Reference Book         5
                                                        2017                           2017                               2017                               2017                                          2017
                                                        April                          May                                June                               July                                         August
REPURPOSING ESKOM
    GOVERNANCE
    Despite Apartheid’s legacy of low transparency and            Molefe as CEO in May and Anoj Singh as CFO in August
    accountability in the energy sector, Eskom was able to        of the same year. Minister Brown also appointed Ben
    establish relatively high levels of technocratic expertise,   Ngubane as chairman, despite being publicly renowned
    capacity, and competence in the early years of the            for his poor performance and actions at the SABC and
    democratic transition. This was exemplified in the calibre    Land Bank. This was around the same time that the
    of the boards (which included CEOs of international           Dentons probe into possible governance failures and
    utilities) and executives they were able to attract. This     other issues at Eskom was prematurely terminated -
    endured at least into the mid-2000s, alongside relative       with the interim report held back from parliament and
    stability in the Department of Public Enterprises and the     the public, and then allegedly ‘destroyed’ by the Board
    Department of Minerals and Energy.                            in August 2015. Eskom’s governance structures were
                                                                  thus impaired – demonstrated in high turnover, volatility,
    However, towards the end of the 2000s, political interest
                                                                  and disharmony in and across the board, executive, and
    increased in the board and executive appointments
                                                                  senior management – during a high-risk period of debt
    at SOCs in general, and at Eskom and Transnet in
                                                                  financed capital expansion. It is during this period, that
    particular. Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan,
                                                                  the most serious of the alleged instances of capture of
    resisted this emerging undue influence, which likely
                                                                  Eskom leadership, procurement, and operations appear
    accounted for her dismissal only 18 months after her
                                                                  to have taken place.
    appointment.
                                                                  In July 2017, in the wake of a dramatic wave of
    Malusi Gigaba replaced Hogan as Minister of Public
                                                                  resignations and suspensions, the first qualified audit of
    Enterprises in November 2010. In June 2011, Minister
    Gigaba instituted the most radical board change in            Eskom was released. In addition to exposing R3 billion in
    Eskom’s then recent history – all but two non-executive       irregular expenditure, the audit revealed the devastating
    board members were replaced. Zola Tsotsi was                  impact that weak and arguably corrupt governance
    appointed Eskom chairman and maintained a close               has had on the institutional integrity and financial
    relationship with Minister Gigaba in these years. Many        sustainability of South Africa’s most critical SOC. Given
    of Eskom’s most respected executives left during this         these findings, it is highly suspect that a qualified audit
    period, apparently feeling disenchanted by the changing       had not been triggered in earlier years.
    institutional culture and early onset of coordinated          Rebuilding and reinforcing good governance at Eskom,
    corruption and political interference.                        including through reviewing systems of appointment
    This pattern was reiterated in the appointment of the         and the structure of the utility itself, will likely be
    next board in December 2014, under Lynne Brown as             a critical area where recommendations should be
    Minister of Public Enterprises. This time the hollowing       developed.
    out of Eskom’s board and executive governance
    appears to have been more severe. Six out of eight            Questions on Eskom Governance
    appointees had unambiguous connections with the               What were the processes for Ministers Gigaba and
    Gupta family and questions have been raised about a           Brown’s appointments of new Eskom boards in 2011
    notable deterioration in the balance of skills, expertise,    and 2014 respectively? What were the nature and
    and experience on the board. During the course of the         content of the Ministers’ interactions with the Eskom
    year, Eskom’s two top executives – CEO Brian Dames            board? Did Ministers Brown and Gigaba ever give the
    and CFO Paul O-Flaherty – also resigned. Then, in             board instructions to take any decisions incongruent
    the first quarter of 2015, the Eskom executive was            with the rules of independence and good corporate
    stripped to the bones when Zola Tsotsi suspended four         governance? Were board members suitably qualified?
    executives before stepping down himself – allegedly           How did the Ministers satisfy themselves that the board
    at the behest of President Zuma. Minister Brown then          appointments they made fulfilled the requirements
    made secondments from Transnet, instating Brian               from a skills, integrity, experience and transformational

6          Governance
perspective? Were links of the relevant board members        and Koko, and Chief Financial Officers T. Molefe and
to the Gupta family known at the time of their               Singh, as well as key executives in power generation,
appointment? If so, was this a cause for concern? If not,    primary energy and commercial (procurement), play in
what might this imply about the use of due diligence         major procurement processes where there have been
checks? What role did the board chairs, Zola Tsotsi and      allegations of corruption?
Ben Ngubane, and individual board members play in
procurement processes? Why did certain members               Questions for Eskom executives
of Eskom’s board resign in 2016/7 and what processes         and managers
governed the appointment of new board members by
                                                             Were you put under pressure to approve decisions that
Minister Brown?
                                                             you did not feel comfortable with? Did you experience
Did Minister Brown, the Eskom board and management           anything untoward taking place that would put
undermine the Eskom War Room, instituted by Cabinet          procurement operations in jeopardy of interference? Did
and the Deputy-President to reverse load-shedding and        you at any time during your leadership at Eskom take
improve Eskom’s technical and financial performance?         instructions from third parties? Did you ever declare
To what extent and to what end were key reports, such        your close relationship with these parties? Were you
as the Dentons investigation, withheld from the War          involved in the award of any tenders to these parties?
Room, Cabinet, Parliament and the Public?                    Did members of the executive/board ever exert, or
                                                             threaten to exert, power beyond their mandate? Do
What is the role of the Board Tender Committee? What
                                                             you know of any cases where sensitive information was
is and is not in their remit? Have these rules changed
                                                             shared with the Guptas, associates or others who had
since 2009, including the changes in the rand amount
                                                             not been cleared to receive such information?
that they have the discretion to make decisions on? Can
the board override decisions/outcome of the Executive        Were you given any instructions by the Guptas? Did you
Procurement Committee? Interrogate instances                 feel under pressure at any stage to take or comply with
where the Board Tender Committee unduly influenced           demands from them, and if so, how did this play out?
processes.                                                   What was your understanding at the time of the Gupta’s
                                                             relationship with Eskom, and with other SOCs, and the
What were the circumstances of the appointment &
                                                             executive? Describe your relationship with the Gupta
resignation of key Eskom executives between 2009 and
                                                             family, Salim Essa and senior executives of the Gupta
the present?
                                                             companies? Why was sensitive information shared with
What role did Eskom chief executives Maroga, Dames,          the Guptas and associates? Did you ever accept any
Matona, and Molefe, acting chief executives Matjila          gifts from the Guptas and associates?

Potential Interviewees: Eskom Executives and Managers

 CHIEF EXECUTIVES                            OTHER ESKOM EXECUTIVES                    PRIMARY ENERGY
 Brian Dames (2010-14)                       Suzanne Margaret Daniels (2015-)          Johann Bester
 Collin Matjila, acting (2011)               Dan Marokane (2010-14)                    Kiren Maharaj
 Tshediso Matona (2014-15)                   Erica Johnson (2007-2014)                 Ayanda Nteta
 Brian Molefe (2015-16&17)                   Steve Lennon (2007-2014)
 Matshela Koko, acting (2016-17)             Abram Masango (2014-)                     PROCUREMENT
 Johnny Dladla (2017-)                       Mongezi Ntsokolo (2010-)                  Charles Kalima
                                             Thava Govender (2010-)                    Pieter le Roux
 FINANCE DIRECTORS / CFOS                    Ayanda Noah (2012-)                       Mandla Gobingca
 Paul O’ Flaherty (2010-14)                  Kannan Lakmeeharan (2012-2014)            Malesela Sekhasimbe
 Tsholofelo Molefe (2014-15)                 Edwin Mabelane (2015-)
 Anoj Singh (2015-17)                        Prish Govender (2016-)

                                                                                                 Governance            7
REPURPOSING GOVERNANCE

    ESKOM BOARD UNDER MALUSI GIGABA
    Minister Public Enterprises
    November 2010
    to May 2014

                                                         Director General                Advisors to
                                                        Public Enterprises              the Minister
                                                          Tshediso Matona            Siyabonga Mahlangu
                                                        Dec 2010 – Sept 2014         Dec 2010 – May 2014

           Eskom Board Chair          Eskom Board Members                          Eskom CEO

                                            Bernie Fanaroff
                                          Queendy Gungubele
                                              Neo Lesela *
                                           Bejabulile Luthuli *
              Mpho Makwana                 Chwayita Mabude                          Brian Dames
            Nov 2009 – June 2011           Yasmin Masithela                    July 2010 – March 2014
                                             Collin Matjila *
                                          Boni Mehlomakulu *
                                           Mafika Mkwanazi *
                                           Phenyane Sedibe
                                               Lily Zondo
                 Zola Tsotsi                  MJ Husain *
           June 2011 – March 2015              MM Matutu

                                      Financial Director

                 Paul O’Flaherty *    Caroline Henry (Acting)                 Tsholofelo Molefe
               Nov 2009 – July 2013    July 2013 – Jan 2014                  Jan 2014 – June 2015

8            Governance
ESKOM BOARD UNDER LYNNE BROWN
Minister Public Enterprises
May 2014
to Present

                                                                  Director General        PA to the Minister
                                                                 Public Enterprises          Kim Davids
                                                                   Richard Seleke        May 2014 – July 2017
                                                                 Nov 2015 to Present

   Eskom Board Chair                     Eskom Board Members                             Eskom CEO
                                                                                   (including Acting CEOs)
                                            Chwayita Mabude * a
                                               Nazia Carrim * a
                  Zola Tsotsi
                                            Venete Jarlene Klein a                                 Collin Matjila
                  to March 2015
                                                                                                   (Acting)*
                                      Giovanni Michele Leonardi (Swiss)
                                                                                                   April 2014 –
                                      Devapushpum Viroshini Naidoo * a                             Oct 2014
                                           Pathmanathan Naidoo
                                           Mark Vivian Pamensky a
                  Ben Ngubane a
                  April 2015 -               Romeo Khumalo b
                  June 2017                   Mariam Cassim a                                      Tshediso Matona
                                                                                                   Oct 2014 –
                                                                                                   March 2015
                                          New members June 2016:
                  Zethembe                    Pulane Molokwane
                  Khoza (Acting)*             Simphiwe Dingaan
                  June 2017 -
                                             Banothile Makhubela
                  present                                                                          Brian Molefe b
                                            Sathiaseelan Gounden                                   April 2015 –
                                                                                                   Nov 2016

                        Financial Director

                                                                                                   Matshela Koko
                                                                                                   (Acting) c
                                                                                                   Nov 2016 –
                                                                                                   May 2017

       Tsholofelo Molefe                      Anoj Singh
      Jan 2014 – June 2015                Aug 2015 – July 2017
                                                                                                   Johnny Dladla
                                                                                                   (Acting)
* On tender committee                                                                              June 2017 -
a. Dismissed/resigned 2017     b. Dismissed/resigned 2016                                          present
c. (Group Executive for Technology and Commercial/ Generation 2014 - 2016)

                                                                                          Governance                9
KOEBERG GENERATORS TENDER

                                         Minister Gigaba                Collin Matjila           Minister Brown

                      February:                                                                                 August: Acting   ConCourt rules
  Eskom begins      Westinghouse                          Tender process       Board rejects    BTC trip to       CEO Collin       in Eskom/
 tender process    awarded bulk of     April: Minister       reopened,      recommendations, Paris, sponsored   Matjila pushes   Areva’s favour
   for 6 Steam    tender with board    Gigaba scraps     Westinghouse again   initiates direct   by Areva       through Areva    on procedural
   Generators          sign off       tender process       recommended         negotiations    shareholder          award           grounds

     2010               2011               2011                2012               2013             2013             2014             2016

      In 2010, the Eskom board approved the business case                        a ‘nuclear training’ trip funded by Électricité de France
      for extending Koeberg’s lifespan. The plant life extension                 (EDF) – which had a stake in Areva at the time and the
      plan includes the once-off replacement of Koeberg’s six                    same majority shareholder.
      steam generators. A tender, consisting of three parts,
                                                                                 In April 2014, Collin Matjila became Acting CEO of Eskom.
      was issued the same year. At the start of 2011, the Eskom
                                                                                 Though the EXCOPS, BTC, and board had not yet reached
      board signed off on the Eskom Executive Procurement
                                                                                 agreement on the matter, Matjila and new BTC chair,
      Committee’s (EXCOPS) recommendation that Westing-
                                                                                 Neo Lasela, took a decision in favour of Areva, signed
      house (US) should be awarded the bulk of the tender –
                                                                                 by Matshela Koko, to Minister Lynne Brown. Areva was
      with a smaller part apportioned to Areva (France).
                                                                                 awarded the tender on 12 August, 2014.
      Areva then signed letters of intent with Eskom during
                                                                                 Westinghouse challenged the decision through
      President Zuma’s visit to France in March 2011. The next
                                                                                 the courts. Initially it succeeded, but ultimately, the
      month, newly appointed Minister Malusi Gigaba vetoed
                                                                                 Constitutional Court ruled in Eskom/Areva’s favour on
      the board’s earlier decision to award Westinghouse the
                                                                                 (incidental) procedural grounds.
      bulk of the tender. This was one of Minister Gigaba’s first
      interventions into Eskom procurement. It was followed                      The cost of this protracted process goes beyond the
      by – and has been linked to - Minister Gigaba’s purge of                   higher price tag of the Areva bid. Given lead times for
      the Eskom board just three months later.                                   the manufacture of the generators, the replacement will
                                                                                 no longer be possible in the scheduled window, raising
      In 2012, the tender bidding process was reopened. The
                                                                                 concerns around reliability and safety.
      EXCOPS again undertook a technical evaluation of bids,
      reaching a similar conclusion to that of the 2011 tender
                                                                                   1.    Why did Minister Gigaba prioritise this
      process. However, Board Tender Committee (BTC)
                                                                                         procurement with Eskom’s board and
      chairman, Collin Matjila, curiously blocked EXCOPS
                                                                                         executive management?
      from presenting their recommendations to the board –
      effectively stalling the official process.                                   2.    Did Collin Matjila and others subvert regular
                                                                                         procurement process in order that Areva
      Meanwhile, Matjila initiated a parallel process -                                  be awarded the tender, against the advice of
      contracting Swiss firm AF Consult to undertake a bid                               Eskom staff ?
      evaluation review. Following the recommendations of the
                                                                                   3.    Which provisions of the PFMA or other
      AF Consult report, Westinghouse and Areva were asked
                                                                                         relevant legislation or regulations were
      to resubmit bids in July 2013. The board rejected the
                                                                                         breached?
      EXCOPS recommendations on this bid too and instead
      invited the two companies into parallel negotiations.                        4. Have any Eskom board members or staff
                                                                                      received material benefits as a result of this
      In December 2013, once negotiations were already                                tender award?
      underway, members of the BTC were flown to France for

10            Refurbishment
NEW AGE BREAKFAST DEAL

                               Collin Matjila             Salim Essa                Zola Tsotsi

  December: New         Eskom spends R12-       May: Acting CEO Matjila exceeds     November: Auditors     December: Matjila leaves
  Age Newspaper        million on 10 New Age      his mandate - signs 3-year       state New Age deal is   Eskom board, no known
  first publication     business breakfasts      R43-million deal with New Age     irregular expenditure    remedial action taken

       2010                2011–2014                         2014                           2014                     2014

The first edition of the New Age (TNA Media)                        and executive tried to stop or at the very least improve
newspaper was published in December 2010. Since                     Eskom’s terms in the deal. Matjila then allegedly acted
then, the newspaper has garnered a reputation for                   outside of the scope of his authority and against
pushing a specific political agenda. Though the New                 the council of the executive management and legal
Age neither publishes nor audits its circulation figures,           department, by signing an arguably improvident
it has been able to attract millions of rands from                  contract with New Age in May.
government departments and state owned companies
                                                                    In November that year, Eskom auditors stated that the
(SOCs) through bulk subscriptions, business breakfast
                                                                    New Age deal was a reportable irregularity that should
sponsorships, and advertising budgets.
                                                                    be disclosed in the interim results. A number of board
During Collin Matjila’s tenure as Board Tender                      members, including chair Zola Tsotsi, motivated against
Committee chairman (2011-2014), Eskom spent R12                     disclosing the irregularity. The audit and risk committee
million on 10 TNA business breakfasts – more than                   reported directly to Minister Lynne Brown on this issue.
the going rate for more established media groups
                                                                    Collin Matjila did not survive Minister Brown’s
and not including the profit that was made off ticket
                                                                    replacement of the board in December that year – but
sales. According to publicly available information, then
                                                                    the New Age deal did remain intact and no remedial
Minister Malusi Gigaba’s advisor Siyabonga Mahlangu
                                                                    action against Matjila has been pursued.
pushed New Age and TNA deals at SOCs over this
period.

Following Brian Dames’ exit as Eskom CEO, Matjila was
appointed Acting CEO on 28 March, 2014. It has since                  1.   How and why were the recommendations of
                                                                           Eskom staff regarding this media contract
come to light, via the #guptaleaks, that this might have
                                                                           over-turned ?
been the result of mutual business associate, Salim
Essa, circulating his CV to Tony ‘Rajesh’ Gupta and                   2.   Which provisions of the PFMA or other
Duduzane Zuma just six days before the appointment                         relevant legislation or regulations were
was made. A month later, the Gupta’s New Age secured                       breached? Has any remedial action been
a three-year, R43 million business breakfast deal and                      taken?
a R4 million newspaper subscription package with                      3.   Did Collin Matjila act beyond his mandate
Eskom. Matjila had initially only broached the idea of                     in signing the New Age contract? If so, what
a one-year, R14 million deal with the Eskom executive.                     made this possible?
When the contract ballooned, members of the board

                                                                                                             IT & Media               11
T-SYSTEMS

                                         Collin Matjila                    Salim Essa                  Minister Brown

  Eskom exec         December:       T-systems is not      Acting CEO           October:            November: Load-        December:        January: Gupta
   identifies      Eskom launches   shortlisted, faces    Collin Matjila   Recommendations        shedding commences,     Minister Brown      connected
 opportunity to       IT tender       losing Eskom        delays tender    on IT tender finally       board wary of       brings in new        T-Systems
save R1-bn on IT       process           business            process           go to board         changing IT contract       board        contract extended

     2013               2013              2014                2014               2014                    2014                 2014             2015

      In 2013, Eskom’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Sal                         the tendering of non-core functions, would save then
      Laher identified and reported on an opportunity for the                      financially stressed Eskom around R1 billion, none of these
      utility to save almost R1 billion by internalizing core IT                   recommendations reached the board until Matjila was
      functions. T-systems - the serving IT support provider                       replaced by incoming CEO Tshediso Matona.
      - became aware of the risk of losing Eskom’s business
                                                                                   In late October 2014, the IT contract for non-core func-
      which, together with Transnet contracts, accounts for
                                                                                   tions was tabled by the Board Tender Committee – just
      the majority of the firm’s income. Nonetheless, they were
                                                                                   two months before the T-Systems contract was due to
      provided with the opportunity to bid for the smaller, non-
                                                                                   end. On October 31, CIO Laher formally informed T-Sys-
      core IT tender that the Eskom Board Tender Committee
                                                                                   tems that Eskom would be dispensing with its services.
      (BTC) launched in December 2013. However, T-Systems
      was not shortlisted when the bids were evaluated by the                      Then, in December, Minister Lynne Brown made sweeping
      Eskom executive.                                                             changes to the board – bringing in at least six Gupta
                                                                                   connected members. In January 2015, the new board
      When it became clear that T-systems would likely lose
                                                                                   decided to retain T-Systems. T-systems has since been
      out on any Eskom contract, Salim Essa is said to have
                                                                                   connected with Gupta money laundering shell Homix.
      approached the firm’s leadership – offering to lobby
      Eskom on their behalf. T-systems leadership was already                      Laher, winner of the 2013 Visionary CIO Award, and two
      acquainted with Essa, as they had formed a consortium                        respected group executives - Erica Johnson and Steve
      with Infraco – of which Essa was a director - the year                       Lennon – left Eskom following the Koeberg, New Age, and
      before when bidding for a Transnet contract. Essa had                        T-System scandals.
      been appointed Infraco director by Minister Malusi
      Gigaba in 2011. Around this time, Collin Matjila – an Essa
                                                                                        1.   Why were the recommendations of Eskom
      associate in the dubious 2011 COSATU property deals –
                                                                                             staff on this IT tender not taken into account
      was appointed Acting CEO of Eskom. While the role that
                                                                                             despite the large saving that it potentially
      Essa may have eventually played is unknown, T-systems
                                                                                             presented?
      appeared to have gained the ear of the CEO.
                                                                                        2.   What interactions did Matjila have with
      Similarly to the Koeberg Steam Generators tender,                                      T-systems and/or Salim Essa?
      Matjila appears to have used delaying tactics to impede
                                                                                        3.   What were the circumstances surrounding
      the awarding of the IT tender to any of the short-listed
                                                                                             Eskom IT manager Sal Laher’s suspension
      companies. Over the six months that Matjila was in                                     and resignation?
      charge, CIO Laher was arguably sidelined, mainly through
                                                                                        4. Did any Eskom board members or Eskom
      a number of audits conducted under Matjila’s direction.
                                                                                           staff benefit materially from this tender
      Though each audit ultimately indicated that the proposed
                                                                                           award?
      internalization of core IT functions, in conjunction with

12            IT & Media
DUVHA BOILER

                                    Charles Kalima              Abrams Masango               Edwin Mabelane

                                                                            June: Eskom
                     March:        August: Insurance      December:        restarts tender    March: Trillian    March: Dongfang     June: Eskom
                   Catastrophic       evaluation       Eskom launches       process after     recommends         awarded tender    interdicted from
February: Unit 4   Unit 3 boiler       process         tender for boiler    negotiations      Dongfang be       despite Eskom exec  implementing
turbine accident    explosion         completed          replacement         terminated       awarded bid        & KPMG reports Dongfang contract

     2011             2014              2015                2015               2016                2017               2017              2017

Duvha power station has witnessed two major accidents                       The final tender decision also deviated from the stated
in recent years. In February 2011, the Unit 4 turbine                       position of the Eskom executive and an external
spun out during a control test and, in March 2014, Unit                     procurement reviewer (KPMG). In December 2016, both
3’s boiler exploded. Both events caused catastrophic                        had recommended negotiations should be conducted
damage. While the repair of Unit 4 has not received                         only with General Electric (GE) and Murray & Roberts
much public attention, multiple controversies around                        (M&R). Dongfang’s contract is worth R4.8 billion, almost
the Unit 3 boiler explosion, and the subsequent boiler                      R2 billion more than GE and M&R bids.
tendering process, have been in the spotlight.
                                                                            It has since emerged that the award was premised
The 2014 boiler explosion has been linked to changes                        on a late-stage report conducted by Trillian – a firm
in the coal procured for the Duvha plant immediately                        then majority owned by Gupta associate Salim Essa
preceding the incident. The conveyer belt delivering coal                   – days before the contract was awarded. The report
from a tied mine had been broken since December 2013                        was premised on assumptions – that have since been
and coal was being trucked in as a contingency measure.                     challenged - around cost escalation, allegedly proposing
Allegedly, this coal did not meet the required specifica-                   that the fixed-cost Dongfang bid would ultimately be
tions of the plant. As is the case with most coal contracts,                cheaper. Eskom also stated that the findings of the
Eskom has not disclosed any information about this coal                     report were confirmed by SekelaXabiso – a company
supply agreement. The explosion took 600MW offline.                         implicated in irregular spending at SABC.

Despite a clear imperative to replace the boiler as                         The matter has since gone to court. On 30 June 2017,
quickly as possible - South Africa entered a period of                      the High Court granted GE and M&R an interdict to stop
extended load shedding in the second half of 2014 –                         Eskom from implementing its contract with Dongfang,
Eskom took an inordinate amount of time to conclude                         whilst they make their judgement on the matter.
the insurance evaluation process (August 2015) and to
then issue and award the tender (December 2015 and
                                                                               1.     Given the court case that has overturned
March 2017, respectively). At the end of this protracted
                                                                                      the validity of awarding the boiler
process, the Eskom Board Tender Committee (BTC)
                                                                                      refurbishment tender to Dongfang, what
inexplicably awarded the contract to Chinese company
                                                                                      were the internal process that led to the
Dongfang – one of the more expensive bids - despite                                   irregular selection of this company as the
previously stating that price would be the determining                                winning bidder?
factor. Over and above cost considerations, Dongfang
                                                                               2.     Did any Eskom board members or Eskom
scored far lower than the other bidders in the safety,
                                                                                      staff benefit materially from this tender
health and environment category, because it failed to
                                                                                      award?
submit key documents.

                                                                                                                      Refurbishment                   13
GUPTA COAL
      2013–2017
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Brakfontein Coal Mine >
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Majuba Power Station
                                                                                                                                    Tegeta again ask for small                  New Gupta-linked
                               Glencore seeks to renegotiate               After earlier approaches, Tegeta meets                  contract for coal from their                   Eskom Board                          Optimum Coal Mine >
                             Optimum coal contract to Hendrina              with Eskom to obtain coal contract.                       stockpile. Eskom note                       appointed by                         Hendrina & Arnot Power Stations
                                 invoking “hardship clause”                    Officials say coal is unsuitable                  environmental non-compliance                    Minister Brown
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Koornforntein Coal Mine >
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Komati Power Station

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Governace
                                          2013                                              2014                                              2014                                    2014
                                          July                                              May                                               Sept                                    Dec

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Negotiations for coal
                                                                                                                                 Eskom Executives              Brakfontein contract signed and soon
                                                                           Coal repeatedly fails       Brakfontein begins                                                                                    2015       contract of 65,000
                                                                                                                                 suspended, Board           after increases to 100,000 tons per month
                                                                             quality tests but          coal deliveries to                                                                                   Jan       tons per month from
                                      Molefe becomes                                                                           Chair Tsotsi resigns and      (later to 200,000 tons per month) and is
                                                                           Eskom pays anyway                 Majuba                                                                                                        Brakfontein
                                    acting CEO at Eskom                                                                        Ngubane takes his place               extended from 5 to 10 years

      Molefe rejects terms
       of agreement and                                                     2015                                                                            2015
                                        2015                                April                                                                          March
     suspends negotiations              May
         with Optimum

                                                                                                                                Eskom CEO Molefe & Chair             Koko lifts suspension
                                                                        Eskom suspends                       Glencore places     Ngubane meet Minister              of Brakfontein contract          Brakfontein
                                                                    Brakfontein coal contract                  Optimum in       Ramathlodi to suspend all           and suspends scientists        continues to fail
        Eskom imposes                                              which wasn’t meeting specs                business rescue    Glencore’s mining licences           who did quality tests           quality tests         New Mines Minister
                                       2015
        R2.1 bn fine on                July                                                                                                                                                                                Zwane joins Rajesh
           Optimum                                                                                                                                                                                                       ‘Tony’ Gupta and Salim
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Essa in Switzerland
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          to meet Glencore and
                                                                                                          2015                                                                           2015                              consummate sale of
                                                                                                          Aug                                                                            Sept                              Optimum to Tegeta
                                                                                                                                                               Eskom eases terms
                                                                                                                                    December deal              of Optimum supply
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         CFO Singh and Head of
                               Eskom convenes late night Board                                                                     effective January          contract to Hendrina
                                                                                                                                                                                                             2015        Commercial, Koko, fly to
                                Committee meeting to approve                                         Brakfontein sold                 1st, though             and grants lucrative
                                                                                                                                                                                                             Dec         Dubai at Gupta expense
                               R659m pre-payment to Tegeta to           Optimum given further       to another Gupta                payment to be              contract to supply
                                  finalise Optimum purchase               contract for Arnot       company Shiva Coal                  finalised             Arnot (without tender)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Singh approves R1.6bn
      Ownership of Optimum                                                                                                                                                                                                guarantee to Tegeta
        Holdings, including
        Koornfontein, mine
       transferred to Tegeta                                                                    2016                                                      2016
                                          2016
                                          April                                                 Feb                                                       Jan                                                             Head of Commercial,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Koko, insists Glencore
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         also sells Koornfontein
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                to Tegeta
                                                                                          Treasury refuses Eskom’s request      Treasury accepts             Treasury sends           Gupta’s sell Tegeta coal
                                                  Tegeta attempts to access mine         to extend Tegeta’s Arnot contracts     7 year extension              final report to          interests to associate
                                                    rehabilitation fund illegally          until it completed investigation     to supply Komati                  SCOPA                   Amin Alzarooni

                                                                 2016                                       2016                                                   2017                        2017
                                                                 May                                        Aug                                                    July                       August

14          Coal                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Coal          15
GUPTA COAL

     Rajesh (Tony) Gupta   Duduzane Zuma          Salim Essa       Ben Ngubane          Brian Molefe       Matshela Koko

     Black gold                                                   Koko – who was one of the four suspended executives
                                                                  – later returned to his position as MD of Technology
     Eskom’s largest procurement line item is coal,
                                                                  and Commercial. The Guptas – seemingly fortified by
     purchasing around 120 million tons per annum, worth
                                                                  the changes in the board and executive - became more
     more than R50 billion. It is here that we have seen the
                                                                  insistent and enterprising. Meanwhile, the new board
     most ambitious schemes by the Gupta family to land
                                                                  and executive appear to have been increasingly willing
     lucrative contracts - in part made possible by the lack of
                                                                  to respond to their demands. The initial Brakfontein
     transparency in coal procurement.
                                                                  contract was subsequently amended, with the coal
     When the Gupta family first met Eskom CEO Brian              supply agreement increasing from 65,000 to 100,000
     Dames in early 2010, they tried to obtain a coal supply      and then 200,000 tons per month and the contract
     contract to the Lethabo power station, but nothing           period extended from 5 to 10 years at a price higher
     was concluded as Lethabo was supplied through a              than other coal suppliers to the Majuba power station.
     secure, long-term contract at competitive prices by          There were instances where more coal than specified
     the New Vaal mine. Their attention soon shifted to           in the contract was delivered, for which they were paid
     other opportunities - including the acquisition of the       anyway.
     Brakfontein coal mine, which was always unlikely to
                                                                  However, the Brakfontein coal was repeatedly failing
     deliver the quality of coal required by Eskom, and then,
                                                                  quality assurance tests. Because of this, Brakfontein’s
     moving up a gear, the acquisition of Glencore’s Optimum
                                                                  contract was briefly suspended, only to be reinstated
     Coal Holdings and coal contracts to supply Eskom’s
                                                                  by Koko - who then suspended the scientists
     Hendrina, Arnot and Komati power stations.
                                                                  responsible for the negative quality tests. Emails from

     Brakfontein: Coal Eskom did                                  the #guptaleaks reveal how Tegeta staff effectively
                                                                  instructed Eskom staff to sign contracts without any
     not need                                                     competitive tenders, suggesting that the deals had been
     The Guptas purchased the Brakfontein coal colliery in        made at a higher level.
     Delmas through their company Tegeta in 2011. Despite
                                                                  Ownership of Brakfontein has since been transferred
     this acquisition, their initial offers to supply Eskom’s
                                                                  to another Gupta company, Shiva Coal, which does not
     Majuba power station from Brakfontein were rebuffed.
     However, wholesale governance and management                 meet Eskom’s empowerment criteria.
     changes in Eskom turned their fortunes.
                                                                  Optimum
     Following Minister Brown’s new board appointments
                                                                  The Guptas clearly had greater ambitions and their
     in December 2014, four Eskom executives were
                                                                  sights turned to Optimum Coal Holdings, a company
     suspended in early 2015. Though the remaining
                                                                  owned by Glencore, which had three major assets:
     managers and technical staff raised serious concerns
                                                                  Optimum Coal Mine - which supplies Eskom’s Hendrina
     around the quality of Brakfontein coal, environmental
                                                                  power station, Koornfontein Mine - which supplies
     contraventions, as well as the black economic
                                                                  Eskom’s Komati power station, and an export allocation
     empowerment credentials of Tegeta, these were not
                                                                  at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
     addressed. The first Brakfontein contract was signed in
     March, when Ben Ngubane was appointed board chair.           Under Glencore, the cost of production at Optimum
     Brian Molefe took over as CEO in April and Matshela          Coal Mine had increased to more than R300 per ton.

16          Coal
However, the mine was locked into a fixed price contract      million loan to Tegeta, it was agreed at this meeting
with Eskom of around R150 per ton until 2018, meaning         that Eskom would make a pre-payment of this exact
the mine was losing at least R120 million per month. In       amount to the company. Phone records obtained by the
July 2013, due to these conditions, Glencore invoked          former Public Protector show that there was continual
a “hardship clause”. Following negotiations, Eskom’s          communication during this time between CEO Brian
Executive Procurement Committee (EXCOPS) approved             Molefe, the Guptas, and one of their senior executives.
a new contract in March 2015 - but final approval was
                                                              Three months later, Optimum’s business rescue
deferred to the new acting CEO Brian Molefe, who
                                                              practitioners filed a report with the Directorate of
rejected the terms of the agreement and suspended all
                                                              Priority Crime Investigation in terms of Section 34 of
negotiations. In July 2015, CEO Molefe then imposed a
                                                              the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities
R2.1 billion backdated fine on Glencore for not meeting
                                                              Act, alleging that the payment had been directed
coal supply specifications. Around this time, the Guptas,     elsewhere and not into Optimum’s accounts to assist
through their company Oakbay, made Glencore an offer          with its liquidity, as purported by Eskom. Koko, when
to purchase Optimum. The offer was initially rejected.        questioned on Carte Blanche, denied any pre-payment,
In August 2015, Glencore placed the mine in business          but when confronted with evidence had to backtrack.
rescue to stave off liquidation. In the same month,           The challenge for the Guptas since, has been to earn
Eskom CEO Molefe and board chair Ngubane met with             profits from Optimum where its previous owner,
Mining Minister Ramatlhodi to persuade him to cancel          Glencore, was incurring losses. Three strategies were
Glencore’s mining rights, while Koko threatened to            adopted. First, the Guptas have attempted to sell
review all of Glencore’s coal contracts with Eskom.           the valuable Richards Bay export allocation. Second,
#guptaleaks show that Koko also leaked confidential           they tried to mitigate the heavy fine that Optimum
Eskom information to the Guptas. Koko subsequently            had incurred in the dispute with Eskom around below
insisted that Glencore sell not only the Optimum Coal         specification coal supplied to Hendrina. Third, the
Mine, but all the assets in Optimum Coal Holdings,            Guptas identified opportunities to increase revenues
including Koornfontein and the export allocation.             through further coal contracts. Though the Guptas have
Under this pressure, Optimum’s business rescue                not yet finalised the sale of the export allocation, they
practitioners entered into negotiations to sell Optimum       have been somewhat more successful in the second and
                                                              third strategies. The dispute was referred to arbitration
Coal Holdings. These negotiations were subsequently
                                                              and Eskom agreed to reduce the fine from R2.1 billion
facilitated by President Zuma’s new Mining Minister,
                                                              to R577 million, while the loss-making contracted
Mosebenzi Zwane, who joined Rejesh ‘Tony’ Gupta
                                                              coal supplies to Hendrina were minimised by reduced
and Salim Essa in Switzerland in December 2015 to
                                                              electricity generation output at the power station and
finalise the sale with Glencore’s leadership. On his return
                                                              alternative, higher priced contracts were made with
journey, Zwane allegedly joined the Guptas on their jet
                                                              Eskom to supply Arnot power station, 60 km away.
to Dubai.
                                                              The Guptas have acquired major coal mining assets with
However, the Guptas still needed to find the money to
                                                              Eskom’s assistance and secured lucrative coal contracts
pay the banks which held Optimum’s debt. They wrote
                                                              to power stations, without competitive tendering and
to Koko in December 2015 to confirm an in-principle
                                                              where there are better priced alternatives.
agreement for a R1.68 billion pre-payment for coal to be
supplied in the future. During December, both Koko and        Komati, Hendrina and Arnot are old power stations
Eskom CFO Anoj Singh were flown to Dubai – allegedly          that are due to be shuttered after 2020. Will the Gupta
at the Guptas expense. Singh arranged for a R1.6 billion      coal contracts mean that their operational lives will
Eskom guarantee to Tegeta.                                    be extended, despite being amongst Eskom’s most
                                                              inefficient and expensive power plants?
The eventual cash assistance to Tegeta for the purchase
of Optimum was finalised at a late night Eskom Board          A National Treasury investigation has been submitted to
Committee meeting convened in April 2016. Just hours          SCOPA, which recommends sanctions, as well as further
after a consortium of banks refused to advance a R600         forensic investigations.

                                                                                                           Coal           17
SQUEEZING OUT THE COAL MAJORS

            Malusi Gigaba                  Sipho Nkosi                  Mark Cutifani                Brian Molefe             Matshela Koko
                                        (Ex-Exxaro head)                (Anglo head)

     Kusile: Minister Gigaba      Matla: Eskom fails to          Arnot: Eskom          Arnot: Eskom       Majuba: Eskom refuses    Arnot, Tutuka,
     torpedoes New Largo       provide capital as per cost    terminates Exxaro/     terminates Exxaro      to extend Exxaro       Komati: Exxaro
     mine with 50 + 1% req.    plus agreement for Exxaro     Anglo Mafube contract    Arnot tied mine    Leeuwpan mine contract   NBC contracts end

             2013                       2014                         2015                 2015                      2017                2017

      In recent years Eskom has adopted an increasingly                          its Leeuwpan mine - but Eskom has failed to approve
      robust – or even outright uncooperative - attitude in                      any extension of the contract. In the meantime, Eskom
      its negotiations with coal majors, such as Anglo Coal,                     has agreed to ever increasing supplies from the Gupta’s
      Glencore, South32 (ex BHP Billiton) and Exxaro (which,                     Brakfontein mine, despite their coal not meeting power
      until recently, was majority black owned). Eskom’s coal                    station quality requirements.
      power stations were built adjacent to these mines, which
                                                                                 Exxaro supplies Eskom’s Matla power station on a cost-
      allowed for long-term, secure, low-priced contracts.
                                                                                 plus contract. However, Eskom again failed to invest
      Exxaro has experienced the full force of Eskom’s recent                    further in the mine, as per the agreement, even though
      antipathy to its major coal suppliers, with contracts to                   historically it was a low-cost producer. As a consequence,
      supply Arnot, Majuba, Tutuka, Komati, and Matla power                      Eskom is trucking in coal at much higher prices.
      stations recently terminated, not suitably maintained, or
      due to end soon without renewal on the horizon.                            Exxaro’s contracts to supply Eskom’s Tutuka and Komati
                                                                                 power stations will expire at the end of 2017. Komati is
      Exxaro used to supply Eskom’s Arnot power station                          also being supplied by the Gupta’s Koornfontein mine.
      from a captive mine via conveyor belt - Exxaro owns the
      mining rights and Eskom the land. In 2006, the Arnot                       Another example of Eskom squeezing coal majors
      power station was upgraded but Eskom failed to secure                      is Anglo’s New Largo coal deposit, which was the
      land rights essential to extending the mine’s operations                   rationale behind Eskom’s siting of its new Kusile power
      and, with reduced output, unit costs of coal increased                     plant. Heads of agreement were signed between the
      substantially. There was also a dispute around when                        companies and Anglo proceeded with feasibility studies,
      the contract would expire. Despite a term sheet being                      environmental processes, and a mining right application;
      agreed in 2013, Eskom terminated the coal supply agree-                    but then Minister Gigaba imposed a new 50+1 black
      ment in September 2015 and the mine was closed with                        ownership requirement without any official policy,
      the loss of 1500 jobs. The mine could still be re-opened                   legislative or regulatory backing in 2011. The mine remains
      but Eskom has expressed no interest in this and has, in-                   undeveloped and coal is being trucked into Kusile at high
      stead, increased its short-term coal contracts with mines                  cost and considerable risk.
      such as the Gupta’s Optimum Coal mine, 60km distant.
                                                                                 Eskom coal procurements offer opportunities for new
      In the same year, Eskom also terminated an Arnot supply
                                                                                 black-owned mines. As the shift from long-term contracts
      contract from the Mafube mine, which was jointly owned
                                                                                 with coal majors to shorter term contracts with new
      by Exxaro and Anglo, even though the cost of this coal
                                                                                 entrants accelerates, transparency is important. It is clear
      was substantially cheaper than almost any other supply
                                                                                 that the Guptas have benefited from the shake-down of
      agreements, especially the Gupta contract.
                                                                                 low-cost, long-term coal suppliers – arguably without
      Exxaro also had a fixed price coal contract, until March                   supporting the transformation imperative that has made
      2016, to supply Eskom’s Majuba power station from                          this possible.

18            Coal
Coal Questions

1.   To what extent, and why, did Eskom board members and managers fail to comply with the
     PFMA and other Acts and regulations in the awarding of a series of coal contracts to:
     •   Tegeta’s Brakfontein coal mine to supply Majuba Power Station,
     •   Tegeta’s Optimum Mine to supply Arnot, and,
     •   Tegeta’s Koornfontein mine to supply Komati,
     at increased volumes, prices, and periods, without competitive tender, and despite some
     supplies repeatedly failing quality assurance tests?

2. What were the roles of Rajesh ‘Tony’ Gupta, Salim Essa, Ben Ngubane, Brian Molefe, Matshela
   Koko, and involved board sub-committees in the Glencore / Tegeta / Optimum Holdings deal
   including:
     •   the cancellation of the Cooperation Agreement with Glencore;
     •   levying a fine of R2.1 billion on Glencore (which was substantially reduced later for Tegeta);
     •   the private commercial negotiations in Switzerland;
     •   the Department of Mineral Resources issuing mine stoppages and threats to review or
         cancel mining licences and coal supply agreements in all of Glencore’s mines;
     •   refusing to consent to the sale of Optimum to another purchaser (Endulwini Consortium),
         meaning that Tegeta emerged as the only remaining entity that wished to make the
         purchase;
     •   Matshela Koko insisting that the sale include not just Optimum Coal but also Koornfontein
         and the Richard’s Bay Terminal export allocation;
     •   Matshela Koko’s leaking of confidential Eskom information to the Guptas;
     •   Anoj Singh approving a R1.6 billion guarantee with Absa bank to facilitate the Optimum
         purchase by Tegeta;
     •   authorising an extraordinary pre-payment to Tegeta, of R659 million, which was used to
         purchase Optimum?

3.   What is the nature of relationship between Ben Ngubane, Brian Molefe, Matshela Koko, Anoj
     Singh (plus other Eskom board members and managers) and the Guptas? Have they benefited
     materially from this relationship?

4. It is clear that Tegeta has benefited from favourable treatment to the detriment of other coal
   companies, including those that are fully black owned. Please explain this apparent partial
   treatment?

5.   Could senior executives from Exxaro, Anglo, Glencore and South32 outline and document
     Eskom’s actions in shifting from long-term to short and medium term coal contracts and the
     consequences for Eskom’s coal costs and security of supply?

6. Could Ministers Gigaba and Brown explain their roles in decisions pertaining to investment in
   coal mines to supply Eskom, including the lack of approval for Eskom to meet its obligations in
   cost-plus mines, as well as blocking the development of the New Largo mine to supply Kusile?

7.   Could Brian Molefe and Matshela Koko, plus Eskom executives responsible for Primary Energy
     and Procurement, explain their actions in terminating contracts with coal majors and instead
     favouring particular mines, such as those owned by the Guptas?

8. Have the Guptas actually sold Tegeta or are they, in effect, still beneficiary owners?

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