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Cape Town - Acting Eskom CEO Colin Matjila has promised to release the tender documents relating to the contact signed with French nuclear company Areva for the replacement of Koeberg nuclear power station’s steam generators.
Matjila, who makes way for Tshediso Matona next month, was peppered with questions from DA MP Gordon MacKay who asked why Public Enterprises Minister Lynn Brown, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and the Eskom acting CEO had refused to release the tender documents to the energy portfolio committee.
Matjila said the other bidder - Westinghouse Electric SA - had withdrawn its legal action and the tender documents would be made available to it soon. He pledged that “within the confines of the law” the appropriate documents would be released to the energy portfolio committee in due course.
In a surprise move, Eskom signed a contract with Areva - also believed to be top of the pops in South African government circles for contracts relating to the proposed new nuclear build programme - on September 5. Westinghouse abandoned a bid to stop Eskom from going into business with Areva.
Heated discussion
Brown, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, objected to MacKay’s suggestion that she had personally benefited from the deal with Areva. It was previously reported that a decision to give the R4bn project to Westinghouse had been changed after her intervention.
Brown, however, objected strongly to any suggestion that she had played a role in Eskom’s tendering processes. “You (McKay) accused me of being corrupt… yes you did. I am not in charge of the documents. I do not sit in the bid committees. It is… it remains in Eskom’s hold,” she said.
“I don’t run Eskom,” said Brown, noting that she did not politically interfere in Eskom’s decision-making processes. “I will not be responding to you (McKay). Eskom will make a decision how they respond to you.”
- Fin24
Matjila, who makes way for Tshediso Matona next month, was peppered with questions from DA MP Gordon MacKay who asked why Public Enterprises Minister Lynn Brown, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and the Eskom acting CEO had refused to release the tender documents to the energy portfolio committee.
Matjila said the other bidder - Westinghouse Electric SA - had withdrawn its legal action and the tender documents would be made available to it soon. He pledged that “within the confines of the law” the appropriate documents would be released to the energy portfolio committee in due course.
In a surprise move, Eskom signed a contract with Areva - also believed to be top of the pops in South African government circles for contracts relating to the proposed new nuclear build programme - on September 5. Westinghouse abandoned a bid to stop Eskom from going into business with Areva.
Heated discussion
Brown, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, objected to MacKay’s suggestion that she had personally benefited from the deal with Areva. It was previously reported that a decision to give the R4bn project to Westinghouse had been changed after her intervention.
Brown, however, objected strongly to any suggestion that she had played a role in Eskom’s tendering processes. “You (McKay) accused me of being corrupt… yes you did. I am not in charge of the documents. I do not sit in the bid committees. It is… it remains in Eskom’s hold,” she said.
“I don’t run Eskom,” said Brown, noting that she did not politically interfere in Eskom’s decision-making processes. “I will not be responding to you (McKay). Eskom will make a decision how they respond to you.”
- Fin24
