Eskom sues Deloitte for alleged illegal contracts

SOUTH AFRICA’S Eskom is taking legal action against Deloitte Consulting for the recovery of funds amounting to £10.91 million.

The cash-strapped state power company alleges that the sum of £10.91m is related to improperly-awarded work during 2016.

Eskom has a debt of over £23.71 billion and is dependent on government bailouts to remain operational.

The African firm is facing a judicial inquiry into corruption in state entities. This is in addition to several other probes into mismanagement at Eskom.

Jabu Mabuza, company’s chairman, said in a statement on Monday (21) that his firm filed court papers against the consulting firm, to recover the funds linked to contracts it was awarded by former Eskom executives, accusing Deloitte of unfair practices.

"Information before us shows that Deloitte engaged in activities that were unfair, inequitable, non-transparent and uncompetitive, using off-the-record briefings with Eskom officials to submit proposals, and were granted contracts even though their pricing was way above their competitors," Mabuza said.

Eskom was urging the court to rule the operations relating to a group of tenders as "unlawful and unconstitutional, to set aside the awards, and for Deloitte to pay back the amounts paid to them".

Meanwhile, Deloitte disputed the allegations made by Eskom on Tuesday (22).

The probes were started after leaked documents in 2016 detailed relations between the wealthy Indian-origin Gupta family, former president Jacob Zuma, and deals signed with state companies such as Eskom and other multinational business giants.

The Gupta family and Zuma have repeatedly denied all the allegations.

The detailed investigations have resulted in the resignations and the firing of numerous executives in state-run firms in South Africa.