Eskom directors and senior officials awarded three contracts worth about R7.9 billion for the supply of fuel to 11 power stations to Econ Oil and Energy despite an ongoing corruption investigation into the company’s dealings with the power utility.
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Lawyers for Eskom have acknowledged that power utility can't explain why its board in October 2019 endorsed a decision to award an R8 billion fuel oil tender to Econ Oil, which it now says is "patently unlawful".
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Lawyers for Eskom have asked the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to scrap a profoundly unlawful R8 billion agreement with Econ Oil, saying the fuel oil supplier should not even have been allowed to submit a tender.
The case was argued virtually on Wednesday before Judge Bashier Vally. It concerns a multibillion-rand tender issued in May 2019 to supply Eskom power stations with fuel oil for five years.
Econ Oil initially won an R850 million contract to supply Hendrina power station with fuel oil. Sasol and BP won the other bids. Support independent journalism Subscribe to News24 for just R75 per month to read all our investigative and in-depth journalism.