ANC could hinder Eskom loan

Cape Town - The indirect stake that the ANC's investment company, Chancellor House, holds in the Eskom expansion programme could count against the ANC government in its desperate application for a World Bank loan for Eskom.

This is while the board of the World Bank is deliberating the massive loan regarded as essential for the South African economy.

Questions apparently continue to be asked about Chancellor House's 25% interest in the Hitachi consortium that won the contract to build the pressure vessels for Eskom's gigantic power stations, Medupi and Kusile, whose costs will run to R120bn and R140bn respectively.

At a press conference on Friday Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters faced questions about Britain's apparent concern over the issue despite a report a year ago by advocate Lawrence Mushwana, the former public protector, which indicated that the awarding of the contract to Hitachi had been legitimate.

There was, however, a conflict of interest owing to the "personal interest" of then chairperson of Eskom's board, Valli Moosa, as an ANC member. Peters denied that the contract was being interrogated by Britain.

Hogan referred to the report's recommendation that legislation should be introduced to regulate business relations between government institutions and political parties.

Trade unions also have interests in companies - should it therefore be declared illegal for companies to have these unions as empowerment partners, she asked.

Lance Greyling from the Independent Democrats (ID) recently asked the new public protector, Thulisile Madonsela, to table the report in parliament.

Unlike what most ANC members might think, Greyling said, the ID considered it immoral for the ruling party to derive financial benefit from putting to rights the energy disaster caused by gross inefficiency on the part of some of its leaders.

- Fin24.com