AfriBusiness applies PAIA rule for Eskom, Optimum penalty clarification

As media reports surface over a settlement agreement between State-owned Eskom and Optimum coal mine, business rights watchdog AfriBusiness is seeking more information on “what transpired” during the alleged payment of the fine by Tegeta Exploration & Resources.

Leveraging the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), AfriBusiness aims to ascertain how much of the R2-billion fine, which was imposed on Optimum for the delivery of substandard coal, was paid by Gupta family-linked Tegeta, which bought the mine from Glencore last year.

The sentiment on the need for transparency is mirrored by the Democratic Alliance (DA), with DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Natasha Mazzone stating that the party planned to write to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown requesting that the details of the Eskom penalty settlement with Tegeta be made public.

The fine was levied on Optimum when it was still owned by Glencore, with the mine subsequently entering business rescue in August 2015.

In December 2015, Tegeta had concluded a R2.15-billion transaction to buy all the assets of Optimum Holdings.

At the time, Engineering News Online reported that Eskom stood firm on its conditions when approached by the business rescue practitioners – a R150/t fixed-price contract with Optimum and the R2-billion penalty would remain in place, and there would be “no discussions” about coal supply to the Hendrina power station beyond 2018.

“It has come to AfriBusiness’s attention that a settlement was reached by Eskom and Optimum coal mine and that an agreed upon amount of the fine was paid by Tegeta,” said AfriBusiness manager Charles Castle, referring to a report by newswire Bloomberg News published this week.

Bloomberg reported that Tegeta and Eskom had reached an arbitrated settlement over the fine.

“The PAIA application is necessary to determine what exactly transpired and, as Eskom is a State-owned company, it cannot deny the divulgence of information that is of interest to the public,” he concluded.