Eskom investigates oil suppliers owned by same businessman

Eskom tender documents show that the same businessman owned stakes in two different oil suppliers, reports the Sunday Times. FFS Refiners and Kepu Trading are part-owned by businessman Mkhuseli Faku, and earned nearly R5 billion from Eskom between October 2018 and March 2021.

An Eskom insider told Sunday Times that this would usually automatically disqualify both companies from bidding, but Faku says that assertions that the companies colluded are slanderous. There is no law prohibiting the ownership of shares in various companies or serving as a director on the boards of various companies,” said Faku.

“This is true even for companies that are competitors or potential competitors of one another as long as adequate protection mechanisms are in place to safeguard the exchange of information, including competitively sensitive information.”

Faku said he had not declared his interest in FFS to Eskom because it had not been asked of him when Eskom approached Kepu Trading for emergency oil last year. Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said FFS Refiners CEO Andrew Canning reported the matter to Eskom two weeks ago, and told Eskom the company had only become aware of Faku’s relationship with Kepu Trading in July.

“Proper disclosure is key in Eskom’s procurement guidelines, and all the prospective tenderers are aware of this key governance principle,” said Mantshantsha. Given the new developments, Eskom will conduct its own investigations into all the aspects of this matter and take appropriate action against any party that may have contravened any of the governance principles.

Source: IOL