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Andre de Ruyter, CEO of Eskom, in January 2020.
Gallo Images / Business Day / Freddy Mavunda
- Andr, CEO of EskomIs De Ruyter told the Standing Committee on Appropriations that Eskom’s procurement unit could cope despite the suspension of its procurement director.
- Former procurement chief Solly Tshitangano made allegations of non-compliance with procurement guidelines at De Ruyter in a letter to Parliament.
- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts announced Wednesday that it would investigate the allegations against De Ruyter.
Eskom Chief Executive Officer André de Ruyter told Parliament on Friday morning that the suspension of the utility’s director of acquisitions, Solly Tshitangano, will not compromise Eskom’s ability to keep abreast of its acquisitions diversions and expansions. .
Tshitangano was suspended for poor performance. On Wednesday, an Eskom delegation explained its suspension to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa). However, on the same day, it was also revealed that Tshitangano had sent a letter to the committee containing allegations against De Ruyter, among other things, that the CEO had disobeyed hiring guidelines.
In terms of the Public Finance Management Law, government departments and state entities may have the opportunity to deviate from the procurement guidelines and the bidding process in cases where the procurement is an emergency or has only one supplier. .
The National Treasury must approve the deviation before proceeding, provided it is justified.
Eskom CFO Calib Cassim told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations on Friday that Eskom submitted 30 procurement diversion requests to the National Treasury, 11 of which were conditionally approved and 46 expansion requests, 33 of which were conditionally approved.
“Eskom believes that deviations and expansions are exceptional. We require prior approval from the National Treasury before proceeding with the acquisition from a single source. Where we have deviations and expansions, we need to have support or test the market for new contracts,” he said. Cassim.
Members of the standing committee asked De Ruyter about the consequences of Tshitangano’s suspension, to which he replied that Eskom’s procurement unit had extensive skills and capabilities to ensure that the utility is kept abreast of acquisitions. .
“The suspension of the CPO will not create a vacuum in this area. We have trained people who will be able to face the approvals that we obtain from the National Treasury, so I do not anticipate that we will have any difficulties in this regard.” De Ruyter said.
De Ruyter said that with respect to Econ Oil, a supplier whose contract spanning 2021 to 2017 was reviewed, Eskom was subject to an overcharge of R1.2 billion. Econ Oil’s contract with Eskom was worth R5.2 billion and the company has reportedly challenged findings that the deal was irregular in court.
De Ruyter said the Eskom administration enjoyed a positive relationship with the National Treasury in regards to diversion and expansion requests, adding that most of the requests were approved after being justified and requests that were rejected were not. were prosecuted.
“When a deviation or expansion is not approved, we do not proceed. In terms of anticipated deviations, it is difficult to put a number. Of all these requests, 75% are generally approved, so we did not find an unreasonable response. Treasure, “he said.
Also present at Friday’s meeting, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said that corruption remained a feature within Eskom itself and that it would take some time for the administration to clean up with more than 3,000 people currently involved in the system of Eskom acquisitions.
