Not black enough for Eskom

The Sunday Times reported that many coal mining companies are not black-empowered enough to supply Eskom, which has “sparked an epidemic of fronting”.

According to the report Eskom requires companies to be at least 50% black owned to supply it with coal.

However, the mining charter requires coal mining companies to be only 26% black-empowered.

This, the newspaper reported, has resulted in an epidemic of fronting as miners are “now using black traders as go-betweens to sell coal to the utility”.

In related news, the Sunday Times reported that Eskom is forcing contractors at its new power stations to remain quiet about any problems.

The newspaper reported that “seven contractors said they had been issued with onerous confidentiality agreements that could see them fired if they spoke to the media”.

The full reports are available in The Sunday Times of 8 February 2015.

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