ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa says he has lived up to his promise by advising the ANC’s front company to divest its shares in a company benefitting from the electricity price hike.
ANC front company Chancellor House owns 25percent of the shares of Hitachi Africa, which has a R38billion contract to install boilers in two new multi-billion rand power stations.
The ANC will directly benefit from next month’s electricity price hike through the deal. On Monday, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan described this as a “conflict of interests”.
Phosa has been criticised for promising two years ago to advise Chancellor House to exit the deal – without results. But yesterday he told Sowetan he had done what he promised.
“We stand by what we said two years ago. We advised the firm accordingly and the fact that the company is taking its time, does not mean it is doing nothing.”
The ID yesterday called on Public Protector Thulisile Madonsela to table the results of an investigation into how Eskom came to award the contract to Hitachi Africa.
The report was completed last year but never tabled in Parliament.
Source: www.sowetan.co.za, 20100303
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