Hawks 'too slow to act' on Eskom deal

The business rescue practitioner who sounded alarm bells last year about the Tegeta purchase of the Optimum coal mine says the Hawks finally contacted him for an interview last week.

Testifying in a parliamentary inquiry into state capture at Eskom, Piers Marsden said he approached the Hawks in July last year after he discovered that just hours after Tegeta admitted to him that it was R600-million short to buy Optimum, Eskom convened a late-night meeting to approve the payment of R586-million to the company.

He said he had barely heard from the Hawks since he made his affidavit except for a request, in May, for further information.

But he said he had been contacted last Thursday by a new investigator who wanted to set up an interview with him.

Inquiry chairman Zukiswa Rantho asked: "Were you not suspicious when all of a sudden the investigating officer wants to meet you? I ask because this inquiry has been publicised."

But Marsden said he was "grateful to have someone to engage with".

He testified that a deal for Tegeta to acquire the coal mine, which was in business rescue, was struck in April 2016.

On April 11 then Tegeta executive member Nazeem Howa called Marsden to a meeting where he indicated they were R600-million short of the purchase price, due in two days.

He requested that Marsden approach banks in a bid to finance the shortfall.

Marsden said he met banks that afternoon, but they were not prepared to fund the shortfall. He said he relayed this decision to Howa on that Friday afternoon.

The funds were, however, paid on time and the mine was acquired, but Marsden said he saw an episode of Carte Blanche in June in which it was reported that Eskom had made a pre-payment for coal to Tegeta totalling R584-million during a hastily convened meeting at 9pm on April 11.

He approached the directorate for priority crimes investigation with the information because "I was mindful of the meeting on April11 in which we were led to believe they were R600-million short and that an amount which was relatively similar was approved on the same day".

"The timing required investigation," he said.