DA wants access to Medupi agreements

The DA announced on Tuesday that it submitted an application for access to all agreements between Eskom and all its contractors at the Medupi Power Station in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
“It has been over a month since the DA called for the contracts to be brought before the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises by Minister Malusi Gigaba and we have heard nothing,” said Natasha Michael, Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises.
“It is imperative that all contracts related to Medupi be made public as the continuous delays in the completion of construction at Medupi could have ramifications in Eskom’s ability to provide electricity to the country,” she added.
While it is well known that labour disputes between contractors and workers late last year and earlier this year at Medupi hampered progress and caused further delays, Michaels is of the opinion that shoddy production by contractors, including ANC linked Hitachi Power Africa among others, has added to the crisis.
“The agreements between contractors and Eskom must therefore be made available to determine whether any strict controls have been put in place to ensure that parties meet their deadlines and targets and what action can be taken against the contractors for failure to do so. We trust that the application will lead to key revelations which will assist in ensuring that no further delays are experienced at the station.”
Members of the Lephalale Business Chamber also called for more transparency relating to contracts at Medupi at a previous chamber meeting. Chairperson, Wayne Derksen told Northern News on Tuesday that the Chamber would not only like to see more transparency, but also more accessibility for local businesses to tender for the contracts.