Why alarm bells sounded over PetroSA involving 'notorious' political operator in offshore gas deal
An amaBhungane report published in Daily Maverick details the background of Lawrence Mulaudzi and how his Equator Holdings won PetroSA tenders.
The PetroSA GTL Refinery at Mossel Bay. Picture: petrosa.co.za
Bruce Whitfield interviews Susan Comrie, journalist at the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.
The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa is in the news again, after defending a controversial R3.8-billion deal with Russia’s Gazprombank in December.
This time it's around PetroSA's choice of a company called Equator Holdings to fund and rebuild critical gas infrastructure that an amaBhungane report (Daily Maverick) says is at the heart of government’s multibillion-rand gamble on gas.
The company is run by Lawrence Mulaudzi, flagged numerous times in the report delivered after the Mpati Commission's investigation into corruption and malfeasance at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
Bruce Whitfield finds out more from Susan Comrie, journalist at the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.
"Mr Mulaudzi had two PIC-funded deals totalling around R.3.2 billion, and at least one of those deals has gone spectacularly south for the PIC, which means for government pensioners as well."
"So he's a character we knew well from the Mpati Commission... a controversial character, regularly appearing in the celeb gossip news, and not the kind of person you'd have thought would've been handpicked by PetroSA to lead this massively important gas deal."
Susan Comrie, Journalist - amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
Comrie reports that on the day PetroSA held its December press conference over the Gazprombank deal, it quietly signed a contract agreement with Equator Holdings.
"Essentially what's happened, is he initially wins a contract to fund PetroSA, to go out and find the money for this - it could be as much as $1.2 billion that they need for this project... and then his mandate morphed."
"Suddenly he becomes not just the guy who's going to fund the deal, he becomes the guy who's going to EXECUTE it, and it's a very technical project."
Susan Comrie, Journalist - amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
Comrie emphasizes that amaBhungane went back and looked at the criteria that PetroSA themselves had set.
Their story points out how 'at each turn', it is questionable how Equator met these criteria to advance in the tenders and get selected, she says.
Comrie cites one particular example:
"Initially the tender that Mulaudzi bid for, said that as elimination criteria, they only want the substantial players or financial institutions. Now, by all accounts, Equator Holdings is not that."
"There's another contract he bid for at the same time and, from what we've seen, PetroSA gave him 0/100 in the bid evaluation because they couldn't establish basic facts about this company. Now, lo and behold, they decide somehow this guy meets the criteria of being an established player or a financial institution capable of raising the kind of money that they need."
Susan Comrie, Journalist - amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
In essence, what they've done is to go and put questions to PetroSA, based on the Corporation's OWN criteria, and pointed out where the company falls woefully short, she reiterates.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Alliance also submitted a PAIA application to PetroSA asking that they provide the party with a record of decision that informed the awarding of the tender to Equator Holdings.
To hear more detail from Comrie, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article