By Lameez Omarjee.
State owned power utility Eskom has placed its acting head of security Karen Pillay on precautionary suspension.
This is related to a R500 million emergency security contract awarded to Fidelity Services to investigate coal theft last year.
According to senior Eskom sources, pressure came from the board to suspend her. She continues to cooperate with a probe into the contract.
The accusation is that Eskom did not follow proper procurement processes. But Eskom said the contract was awarded in line with its procurement procedure and National Treasury directives for emergency procurement of services.
Eskom said Fidelity was hired after its management received information about a potentially serious security risk to its operations and assets.
While the initial contract price was R500 million, in the end it paid only R250 million.
Pillay joined Eskom in 2004 from the Special Investigating Unit. She started her career in the police.
Meanwhile the Association of Private Security Owners of South Africa (Tapsosa) says former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter was at the centre of that controversial decision.
Spokesperson Sindiswa Changuion says more heads should roll for wasteful expenditure.
“While we as Tapsosa are pleased with the suspension of Karen Pillay, we believe that more heads ought to roll in relation to the wasteful expenditure of taxpayers money. Other senior officials who signed off on this tender, must also face the music.
“Former CEO De Ruyter must be brought back into the country to account for his involvement in the saga as well.”
The Association has also called for probe into former Eskom board member Busisiwe Mavuso.
“The decision to hand a multi-million-rand deal to Fidelity on a silver platter, was informed by a dodgy Intelligence Report – sanctioned and funded by various organisations including Business Leadership South Africa – whose CEO is Busisiwe Mavuso.”
“We also call for Mavuso to be investigated for her involvement in helping fund an intelligence gathering institute which seem to have fabricated the findings to justify the awarding of an emergency security contract.” she added.