DA welcomes ruling on Eskom’s Areva deal

The DA welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to set aside Eskom’s awarding of a R4.3m tender to Areva.

Bloemfontein - The Democratic Alliance on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to set aside Eskom’s awarding of a R4.3 million tender for Koeberg power station to French nuclear company Areva and said it was proof of large-scale tender corruption at the parastatal.

“The ruling vindicates the view long held by the DA that there is large-scale corruption in the awarding of Eskom tenders,” DA energy spokesman Gordan Mackay said.

He drew a parallel with the United States Securities Exchange Commission’s finding of political interference in the awarding of tenders to Hitachi for the building of the Medupi power plant, and said the axing of Nhlanhla Nene further substantiated fears of political meddling in the state’s planned R1 trillion nuclear build.

“The firing of Nhanhle Nene from the office of Finance Minister by President Zuma is directly rooted in Nene’s opposition to the planned R1 trillion nuclear build which Zuma is intent on ramming through.

“Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, recently stated that Eskom would be involved in funding the build, but given the numerous allegations of corruption at Eskom, and court rulings against Eskom tender awards, this is a recipe for disaster with a door for corruption having been opened wider.”

Westinghouse Electrique Belgium succeeded on appeal with an application for review of Eskom’s decision to award a contract to replace steam generators at the Koeberg nuclear plant. The SCA found that Eskom had chosen Areva for strategic considerations that fell outside the bid criteria.

It did not, however, rule that Westinghouse must be substituted for Areva but referred the tender back to Eskom for consideration.

African News Agency