Eskom deliberately created urgency when it awarded Fidelity a R500m contract to protect power stations, SIU tells SCOPA
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) heard on Wednesday that several of the intermediary companies hired to provide the security in these emergency situations were not fit for the job.
Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey-Makhaza/Eyewitness News.
CAPE TOWN - The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says Eskom deliberately created urgency when it awarded Fidelity Security Services a R500 million contract in 2022 to protect power stations.
The SIU is also probing the contract's links to an intelligence report compiled by the company of former police commissioner, George Fivaz, that Eskom stations were under threat.
Former CEO, Andre de Ruyter, based much of his claims of maladministration and political interference in the running of the company on this report in the final months of his tenure.
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts heard on Wednesday that several of the intermediary companies hired to provide the security in these emergency situations were not fit for the job.
In 2023, the SIU started investigating the appointment of George Fivaz Forensic and Risk to gather intelligence for Eskom.
The almost 1,500-page report was reportedly paid for by the business fraternity.
SIU investigator Viven Govender said the investigation of the Fidelity contract around the same time led it to probe two other emergency contracts with similar hallmarks.
"Eskom employees were deliberately creating emergencies. In one case, Eskom was declaring an emergency up to seven days in advance. Specifically, an emergency must be within 48 hours."
Govender said that in one contract, up to 90% of the work was outsourced and Eskom employees contacted intermediaries before actual service providers for quotations.
"It is unclear how these companies were contracting and how they were identified when they didn’t have the capacity, especially when in one instance, this company didn’t do work for Eskom prior to that."
Govender said that even after a labour dispute with Eskom had been resolved, the emergency was allowed to continue for at least another six weeks before the contract was terminated.
Five employees have been referred for disciplinary action, while three referrals have been made to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
One of the matters is now being prepared for civil litigation to set the contract aside.