The report released by the SIU placed the blame squarely at the feet of Eskom officials who ignored repeated warnings that coal stocks were running low.
The first round of load shedding experienced by the country in 2008 reportedly cost South Africa R14.5-trillion – a fee which allegedly went towards funding emergency contracts signed by Eskom to benefit coal suppliers.
“The figure of R14.5 trillion is … the total value of all coal contracts entered into during the emergency-period negotiations at Eskom. The value is the cost of the contracts for the entire duration of the contract,” wrote SIU spokesperson Nazreen Pandor in a written reply to the publication. “The board of directors did not respond to warnings that the coal stocks were reaching dangerously low levels prior to January 2008 and that the threat of load shedding was a strong possibility. Had the board heeded such warnings, proper planning could have prevented the situation which led to the emergency procurement of coal. The emergency could have been avoided and the cost of procuring additional coal at a mandated value of R14.5 trillion could have been avoided,” read part of the report.
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