Court ruling forces Eskom to open books on coal and diesel contracts

Eskom’s spending is under the spotlight after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the entity must disclose its contracts for purchasing and transporting coal and diesel.

The court dismissed an appeal by Eskom after the Pretoria High Court ruled in Afriforum’s favour for the release of the contracts.

While the power utility argued that the contracts were commercially sensitive, the court found that it was in the public interest to make them public.

IMPOWER energy expert Matthew Cruise explained that this was a major victory for transparency and accountability in the energy sector.

Coal is one of Eskom’s biggest purchases, while diesel purchases saw a major uptake after its coal-powered stations faltered during the worst of load shedding.

“Now we are going to start getting the details of how the State Capture actually took place, and how the ANC politicians were enriching themselves through the coal and diesel supply contracts.

“We will get to see exactly which companies are being enriched through inflated costs of coal and diesel.”

While Eskom is expected to appeal at the Constitutional Court, Cruise emphasised that the ruling sets a precedent for greater transparency in the energy sector and could have far-reaching implications for other state-owned entities.

“Eskom was identified through the Zondo Commission as the main vehicle for State Capture to happen, and the accused number one is still not sitting in prison. So, now we are starting to make slow progress in the judicial system towards some actual convictions happening, hopefully within the next five years,” he said.

To listen to Cruise in conversation with 702 and CapeTalk’s Africa Melane, use the audio player below: