Contracts between Eskom and four major companies working on the Kusile power station project ballooned from just more than R4 billion to more than R11 billion in a little under eight years - R100 million of which flowed to former senior Eskom managers. This includes hundreds of millions of rand in claims paid by Eskom to the four companies - Stefanutti Stocks, Esor Construction, Tenova Mining and Minerals, and Tubular Construction Projects. Investigators from law firm Bowmans, hired in 2018 to probe widespread graft at the power utility, have since discovered that former senior Eskom official France Hlakudi was at the centre of a R100 million kickback scheme relating to the payment of these claims and in one case, the awarding of a R745 million contract that grew to R1.4 billion in value.

Source: News 24 May 20, 2021 03:00 UTC