Eskom’s suspended chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano’s failure to curb excessive spending led to the utility paying R26 per single one-ply toilet paper roll and R51 per black refuse bag.
Eskom suspended Tshitangano in February over non-performance in procurement savings. Tshitangano hit back, accusing De Ruyter of impropriety and racism in employee appointments and awarding supplier contracts.
Following this, SCOPA launched a probe to determine if there was any truth to Tshitangano’s claims. De Ruyter’s affidavit was provided as a response to this.
However, SCOPA has since suspended its probe after Eskom launched its own independent investigation into the matter.
The committee has given the utility 90 days to complete its investigation and report back on its findings.
These included basic day-to-day items like black refuse bags being purchased at R51 each, single ply toilet paper bought at R26 per roll, and milk bought for R21 per litre.
In the table below, we compared these prices to that of Checkers Homebrand products – illustrating just how inflated the purchases were.
| Item | Checkers price | Free text order price | Difference |
|---|
| One-ply toilet roll | R3.99 (10 for R39.99) | R26 | 552% |
| Black refuse bag | R2.99 (10 for R29.99) | R51 | 1,606% |
| 1l milk | R12.49 | R21 | 68% |
In one instance on 11 March 2019 a buyer at Kendal Powers Station placed an order with a company called Sebaramalele Projects for refurbishment of two compressors to the value of R368,550.
It was later discovered that this company had sub-contracted SSS Innovations to perform the work, who in turn sub-contracted A&E Agencies and Repairs.
The latter completed the job for R41,400, R327,150 less than what was paid to Sebaramalele Projects.
Eskom further discovered the price of two completely new compressors would have been R112,000.
The table below shows the free text order figures as opposed to the actual prices Eskom had previously paid for the same components or how much the work had actually cost.
| Component | Previous purchase / Actual price | Free text order value | Difference |
|---|
| Bearings | R110,632 | R408,770 | 270% |
| Hydraulic oil pump | R294,669 | R650,044 | 120% |
| Compressor refurbishing | R41,400 | R368,550 | 790% |
