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Eskom opens up on reason for redacted Dentons report

Johannesburg – As different parties contest the release of a redacted version of the Dentons report on Eskom, the power utility’s board spokesperson says releasing the full report would have infringed on rights of others as well as Eskom.

Speaking to Fin24 by phone, board spokesperson Khulane Qoma said that the report was released through the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) which is legitimate with the laws of the country.

This was in response to a statement issued by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), which called for Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown to order Eskom and Dentons to release the report within seven days.

Ted Blom, portfolio director of energy said the organisation would apply to the courts to have the full report released if this was unsuccessful.

OUTA had written a private letter to Brown asking her to “do everything she can” to obtain a full version of the report.

READ: Eskom Dentons report shows serious breaches

The redacted version of the Dentons report was released to those who applied for it under the PAIA.

The report is based on a three month investigation conducted during 2015 by the global law firm, Dentons. The firm examined the state of the business, with the aim to unpack reasons for load shedding and delays in infrastructure build at the time, among other things.

The report shed light on financial abuses. It is believed that the report implicates current leadership figures within Eskom. The original report with this information has allegedly been destroyed. OUTA subsequently called for a probe into the power utility.

Qoma explained that the report was released under PAIA as third parties mentioned in the report had not been consulted yet. Referring back to a press conference held on February 7, where the power utility’s board explained how the release would be dealt with, he said that initially the report was to be released as it was.

“But as an entity which operates in the context of people’s rights, it was risky for the organisation to release the report without having consulted third parties.”

READ: Public must apply to see Dentons report - Eskom chair

Qoma said that the report contained sensitive information about competitors, suppliers and prices. Consulting the different parties would have been a lengthy process, further delaying the report’s release. “Eskom did not want to go through that process,” he said.

“We did not redact it because we thought it was the most beautiful thing to do,” he added. Releasing the full report would have infringed on rights of others as well as Eskom, he explained.

Eskom has since filed court papers against the Democratic Alliance (DA) over “defamatory” statements the party made against the power utility and acting chief executive, Matshela Koko, relateing to the report. Koko has responded to these remarks saying that it is a “hobby” of organisations to “publicly cast aspersions on people"' and to "throw wild accusations without facts”.

Koko said that Eskom's position on the Dentons report is a matter of public record. "We are open to engage political parties in parliament as required by the law.”

READ: Matshela Koko's stepdaughter nets R1bn in Eskom contracts

Recent reports revealed that Koko’s stepdaughter earned R1bn in nine contracts awarded to her company, Impulse International, by Eskom over a period of 11 months.

Eskom said in a statement on Sunday that when Koko became aware of his stepdaughter’s involvement in Impulse International, in August last year, he had asked her to resign.

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