However, a Kusile Execution Team, which was made up of Eskom officials and outside consultants, began to poke holes in Tenova’s claims. The Kusile Execution Team conducted an audit of the work the firm had done at Kusile and concluded that the company’s claims were “grossly overstated” or “inflated”, according to the documents seen by Scorpio. The Kusile Execution Team also found that Tenova’s claims were marked by “a myriad of erroneous and inaccurate entries” and a “lack of supporting information”.
But Tenova’s top executives at the time, including then CEO Walter Kung, MD Riccardo Tonini and commercial manager Nevil Morham, started meeting with Hlakudi, Nyoka and other Eskom officials without key Kusile Execution Team members, according to the documents.
The Kusile Execution Team members were also excluded from correspondence between Eskom and Tenova regarding the disputed claims. According to one of the documents, this development was “extraordinary”, seeing as the Kusile Execution Team members “were Eskom’s Claims Consultants appointed to deal with the matter”.
In other words, the very people who were supposed to protect Eskom from potentially inflated or inaccurate claims were sidelined by Tenova and, most disturbingly, by Eskom’s own Kusile officials.
Tenova strongly denies that it exploited Eskom.
“As to the allegations of TMMSA [Tenova Mining and Minerals South Africa] having submitted to Eskom ‘grossly inflated and inaccurate claims’, this information is not correct. All the claims submitted to Eskom were legitimate and valid claims, based on contractual provisions and supported by adequate documentation.”
Tenova added that it was not aware of any audit of its claims performed by the Kusile Execution Team. Kung, Tonini and Morham have all left Tenova, the company confirmed. Kung and Morham could not be reached for comment.
Tonini stated the following: “Other than to confirm that I left Tenova some time ago, I do not wish to comment on any of the allegations made in your email as such allegations involve Tenova and I am bound by confidentiality undertakings to the Tenova group.”
“However, my failure to respond must not be understood by you that I agree with any such allegations and I reserve my rights,” added Tonini.
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