Eskom ‘bought’ coal mine for Guptas – report

Six months after being appointed CEO of Eskom, Brian Molefe is said to have blocked the purchase of Optimum coal mine by Pembani, an investment company previously co-owned by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Tegeta, a company owned by the Guptas and Duduzane Zuma, was reportedly ‘bought’ by Eskom so it could receive state contracts worth millions from Eskom.

Molefe forced Optimum into business rescue, resulting in the Gupta-controlled Tegeta buying the mine.

City Press reports that Pembani, which is worth R13 billion and has a proven track record in the coal industry, was sidelined by former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe in favour of Tegeta to buy Optimum, which was granted a R1.6 billion bank guarantee by Absa, provided by Eskom.

The newspaper reports that essentially this means Eskom ‘bought’ the mine so the Guptas could become the frontrunners to receive tenders from the power utility.

“There were two requirements to buy Optimum: the buyer had to provide proof that it had financing for the purchase price and that it had a contract to purchase the 4 million tons of coal that Optimum
produces for the domestic market every year.

“Pembani had no problem with obtaining the financing, but couldn’t get a contract with Eskom. They only had one meeting with Eskom, but Molefe himself told Pembani at the meeting held in December 2015 that Eskom would not conclude a contract with them,” a source said.

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