Thuli joins the dots between the Guptas and the Eskom board

The Eskom board nominated by public enterprises minister Lynne Brown and appointed by the cabinet in September 2015 “consisted predominantly of individuals with direct and indirect business or personal relations” with Duduzile Zuma‚ the Guptas and their associates.

In her state capture report‚ former public protector Thuli Madonsela details multiple conflicts of interest among six board members:

Baldwin Sipho Ngubane (chairman): He was a director of Gade Oil and Gas‚ a company in which Gupta associate Salim Essa was a former director. In his conflict of interest declaration on May 31‚ Ngubane did not list himself as a director of Gade Oil.

Mark Pamensky (non-executive director): He was a director of Oakbay Resources and Energy‚ which was 64%-owned by Atul Gupta. He was also a director of Shiva Uranium. Oakbay Resources and Energy has a 74% shareholding in Shiva and Tegeta has a 19.6% shareholding.

He was also a director of Yellow Star Trading 1099‚ where Essa was a fellow director. He was a former director of BIT Information Technology‚ where fellow director Kubentheran Moodley was a special adviser to the Minister of Mineral Resources and sole director of Albatime‚ one of the entities that contributed to the purchase price of Optimum Coal Holdings.

Says Madonsela:“(Pamensky) would have or could have access to privilege or sensitive information regarding Optimum Coal Holdings and various Eskom contracts. Such information coupled with a personal economic interest would give Tegeta an unfair advantage over other interested buyers. It would be very important to understand the role of this individual in this transaction in light of a high degree of irregularities that appears to have occurred in Eskom.”

In his conflict of interest declaration‚ Pamensky mentions his directorships in Oakbay Resources and Energy‚ Yellow Star Trading and BIT Information Technology. He states that he does not take part in any HR or procurement-related activities.

Devapushpum Naidoo (non-executive director): She is the wife of Kubentheran Moodley‚ director of Albatime. Albatime contributed to the purchase of Optimum Coal Holdings. In her declaration to Madonsela. In her conflict of interest declaration‚ Naidoo listed her husband as a part-time advisor to the mining minister and said this may be a conflict if she was in a forum at Eskom which sought to influence governments mineral policy. She listed herself as an employee of Albatime.

Nazia Carrim (non-executive director): She is the spouse of Muhammed Sikander Noor Hussain‚ a family member of Essa. In her conflcit of interest declaration‚ she did not declare this link. Carrim has since resigned from the Eskom board.

Romeo Khumalo (non-executive director): He and Essa were directors of Ujiri Technologies. Khumalo has since resigned from the Eskom board.

• Read the full #StateCaptureReport hereThe Public Protector has released the state capture report, which focuses on the investigation into complaints regarding any alleged improper and unethical conduct by President Jacob Zuma and any other persons related to alleged improper relationships with the Gupta family. Read the full report here... 

Marriam Cassim (non-executive director): Sahara Computers‚ a 90%-owned subsidiary of Sahara Holdings‚ was a previous employer. In her conflict of interest declaration‚ Cassim did not list Sahara as a previous employer. She has since resigned from the Eskom board.

- TMG Digital/The Times