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Mail & Guardian reports that Eskom’s board is divided over whether to suspend Jan Oberholzer, the utility’s former chief operating officer and now an adviser, who was allegedly involved in a controversial contract worth R500 million for the emergency procurement of security services from Fidelity.
According to Eskom, although the contract was worth R500 million, it paid Fidelity R250 million. Fidelity provided more than 400 guards to protect transmission lines and power stations under threat of sabotage. After a board meeting last week, Eskom head of security Karen Pillay was suspended in relation to the three-month Fidelity contract from July to September 2022. She allegedly played a central role in putting together the scope of the contract, using information from intelligence reports by George Fivaz Forensic & Risk, which were requested by Eskom’s former chief executive, André de Ruyter. The contract was allegedly approved without offering other security companies the opportunity to bid for the work. Eskom said it was investigating all parties involved in the Fidelity deal and would ensure everyone would account for their actions. The Fidelity contract was signed when Oberholzer was Eskom’s COO before he retired in May. He was then given a two-year contract as an operations director to oversee Kusile and Koeberg power stations. Two sources on the Eskom board said the utility was under pressure to review Oberholzer’s position. “His involvement in the Fidelity contract and his inability to redflag it has caused the board to be uncertain about his future at the utility,” one source said. The second source said other board members were conflicted about the decision to remove Oberholzer from his two-year contract.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mandisa Nyathi at Mail & Guardian
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