IN a statement issued by Econ Oil and Energy, the giant black female owned energy supplier has hit back at Eskom rejecting what it referred to as “unproven allegations and a disinformation campaign” against the company.
Eskom and Econ Oil have been at loggerheads since the Eskom group chief executive, Andre de Ruyter, nine days into his appointment, cancelled a multibillion contract awarded to Econ Oil to supply the power utility with oil.
Eskom has alleged Econ Oil has engaged in corrupt activities, bribed Eskom officials and overcharged Eskom. The matter has since turned into a fierce battle between Eskom and Econ Oil.
Econ Oil at the weekend rubbished Eskom and its Bowmans report which made serious, “negative and unproven findings based on assumptions”. Bowmans had claimed Econ Oil allegedly won the Eskom contracts with the help of senior officials at the entity by interfering in the tender processes.
Econ Oil refuted the allegation and claimed the company was being unfairly targeted by De Ruyter and his associates.
Econ Oil rejects unproven allegations, falsehoods and the disinformation campaign against the company in an article titled, “South African utility Eskom contracts swapped for party funding, probe finds”, and the subsequent mainstream media reports, said the statement.
“There is no veracity in the circulating media reports about Econ Oil. The fact that they are alleged in the Bowman report does not make them true. Econ Oil and Eskom are currently engaged in a multitude of cases relating to such claims, all borne out by the award to supply fuel oil to 11 coal-fired power stations,” read the statement.
Econ Oil claims that as a result of building public sensation and influencing public opinion, Eskom, led by De Ruyter, is engaged in disinformation campaigns in an attempt to influence the outcome. The company said it will defend itself.
“It is of no merit but calculated to create public sensation and influence public opinion. The claim further seeks to ride on the wave of a corruption narrative to influence the outcome of the processes currently under way. Econ Oil has filed its defence accordingly,” read the statement.
The company said it has not seen any white-owned suppliers of Eskom subjected to deregistration from the supplier database of Eskom – especially those implicated in State Capture and those who openly admitted to over-charging Eskom, or committing a transgression against Eskom.
Furthermore, it questioned if the supplier review process is “only reserved for innocent black-owned companies that are subject to engineered smear campaigns“.
Despite all the court battles and unfair processes the company is subjected to, Econ Oil is determined to continue discharging its duties guided by the laws of this country.
"We will not allow the company to be used as a deflection tool to 'sanitise' certain individuals. We will continue to discharge our duties with our company's underpinning values, which is dedication, honesty, and delivery excellence."
Meanwhile, pressure has been mounting from labour unions and political parties calling for the removal of the Eskom CEO as he allegedly has not only purged black professionals and excluded black companies as service providers to Eskom, but failed to stop load shedding and improve Eskom’s operations. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) wants De Ruyter gone.
“Andre de Ruyter has demonstrated a total inability to stabilise Eskom. Under his watch this country has experienced the worst blackouts in history – for the first time we reached stage 6 load shedding. Our economy is suffering because of gross incompetence as a result of his leadership we rejected his appointment early on because we were concerned that he lacked the necessary experience to turn Eskom around and we have been proven right.”
“De Ruyter, who has no engineering background, clearly does not have a clue how to stop load shedding, and we doubt that under his leadership he ever will (sic). This is a glaring failure which is having a very negative impact on our economic growth as a country. That alone should be reason enough for his removal,” said Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi Majola.
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