A former Eskom contract employee has been arrested and appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption allegedly causing a loss of almost a R1m to Eskom.
Zandile Rosemary Ngcobo, who was stationed at Tutuka power station, allegedly colluded with other Eskom employees and a supplier to purchase a shipping container for R939,550. However, it was only valued at R20,000, according to Eskom. Not only was the price inflated, but it also did not meet specifications. Eskom took a loss of more than R910,000.
Business Day reported recently about a confidential 2020 report based on a forensic investigation into alleged procurement irregularities at Tutuka. The report noted Eskom ended up paying almost R1m for an oil storage container that could have been procured for about R80,000. This was according to three separate quotes obtained by investigators.
Ngcobo appeared in court with her co-accused Jessie Phindile Kubeka, who is a shareholder of Eskom supplier company Mnandi (Pty) Ltd. Other implicated Eskom employees all faced the same charges at the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court last week. The accused who also appeared were Sarah Nomsa Sibiya and Bhekizizwe Solomon Twala. They are expected to appear again in the same court on June 8.
Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has identified Tutuka as one of the six worst-performing power stations in Eskom’s fleet.
In the oil container transaction, the unit did not fit the description of the oil storage facility required. The container looked second-hand and was being used to store old tyres, according to the investigators. Also, while two companies responded to quotation requests both responses came from the same email address.
The company’s director who submitted the bid had resigned from the company during the investigation. Meanwhile, the Eskom “buyer” had also been suspended at the time and could not assist investigators. In addition, the Eskom employee who sourced the request for quotation for the oil storage facility was employed at Kusile, not at Tutuka.
While three employees were suspended following other investigations, Eskom told Business Day that two had been arrested and were out on bail. The other had since died.
While other companies were named in the report, and are still listed as suppliers to Eskom, they have been subjected to a supplier review process. This process is to have them barred from doing business with Eskom in the future.
Regarding Ngcobo’s arrest, Eskom said it “will continue to provide the required support to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to ensure that the suspects are successfully prosecuted and that a stiff sanction is meted out as a favourable outcome that will serve to deter other would-be offenders”.
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