By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Two former employees of engineering firm Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) have been arrested along with their wives in connection with an allegedly inflated multimillion-rand contract for work at Eskom’s Kusile power station.
ABB was reportedly awarded a R2.2 billion control and instrumentation contract for Kusile in 2015, and subcontracted some of the work to Impulse.
This was despite the fact that Impulse twice failed ABB’s tests for sub-contractor appointments and did not qualify to do the work.
Former acting Eskom CEO Matshela Koko was accused of promising ABB R6.5 billion in future contracts if it sub-contracted work on Kusile to Impulse International, a company partially owned by his stepdaughter, Koketso Choma.
And after Choma became a shareholder at Impulse, Eskom awarded the company a series of other lucrative contracts and paid the firm R295 million.
However, Eskom apparently stopped paying Impulse in 2017, after the Sunday Times exposed the links between the company, Koko and Choma.
Koko has consistently denied involvement in ABB’s awarding of sub-contracts to Impulse.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority Investigating Directorate (NPA ID) spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, the four allegedly cashed in on “gratifications estimated at R8.6 million…by inflating prices “for ABB subcontractor, Impulse.
They were arrested in Durban and Mpumalanga and appeared in the court in what is considered a “seminal case” for the National Prosecuting Authority.
“The former ABB employees, Mohammed Mooidheen and Vernon Pillay, stand accused for their influence in the awarding of over R549.6 million of the Eskom-ABB contract, for the benefit of Impulse between the period 2015 to 2017. This is reportedly despite the fact that it was reported that Impulse did not actually qualify to do the work required.
“Eskom was really at the core of state capture and features prominently in the State Capture Commission Report, where executives at the most senior levels of the SOEs [State Owned Enterprises] seemed to have enabled or facilitated for the looting of state funds, “Seboka said.
NPA ID head Advocate, Andrea Johnson, reiterated that the directorate is “hot on the heels” of those involved in State Capture.
“This is a clear demonstration of collaborative work between the ID, Hawks and SAPS and more seminal cases will be enrolled as we continue to reprioritise cases emanating from the Commission reports.
“The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shamila Batohi, National Commissioner, General Fanie Masemola and Hawks head, General Lebeya met today to reinforce a working relationship among law enforcement and NPA in a bid to ensure that those most responsible for alleged corruption and state capture are held to account and that the rule of law is upheld, “Johnson said.
The case is expected to resume on 14 October for further investigation of assets seized during a joint search and seizure operation with the Hawks and SARS on properties held by the four accused.
Power utility Eskom says the four arrests in relation to a corrupt ABB Group contract for work at the Kusile power station is hopefully just the beginning, with more arrests expected to follow soon.
“Eskom congratulates the NPA’s Investigating Directorate on the arrests in this case, and pledges to do everything in its power to assist the investigations to bring about successful prosecutions.
“Eskom also hopes this is just the beginning and that more arrests will follow on this matter, and on the more than 100 other criminal cases lodged with the law enforcement agencies over the years,” the power utility said.