The civil rights organisation AfriForum has served a public access to information application (PAIA) on Eskom. In the application, AfriForum demands information on active contracts that the national power provider currently has with various service providers, including coal suppliers as well as transport companies that transport the coal.

According to the organisation, the government’s track record regarding the management of state-owned companies leaves much to be desired.

“State-owned companies have now become synonymous with corruption and mismanagement, and we would not be surprised if the handing out of contracts to incompetent service providers, with political ties, is one of the major contributing factors to the country’s load shedding crisis,” says Morné Mostert, AfriForum’s Manager of Local Government Affairs.

“The information we seek to obtain with this application will enable us to take further action against corrupt and incompetent officials and service providers. Despite load shedding, Eskom as a state entity should not keep South Africa in the dark about how it distributes contracts and tenders,” concludes Mostert.