Johannesburg- State-owned power producer Eskom is readying itself to process the findings of the Zondo Commission.
Eskom, which found itself at the centre of state capture allegations during the inquiry, has advertised a request for proposal (RFP) for legal services, with experience at the commission top selection criteria.
State capture commission chairperson Raymond Zondo is expected to hand over the second part of his report to President Cyril Ramaphosa in the next two days. The report is expected to focus on the alleged capture of state-owned entities – with
Eskom seemingly planning to appoint an army of attorneys to pursue implicated current and former employees.
However, the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) has taken on power utility Eskom over the requirements of its recently published tender for legal services for three years – accusing the state-owned entity of intentionally excluding black firms.
The BLA, in a letter dated 21 January 2022, asked Eskom to halt the evaluation and adjudication of the tender until its concerns are addressed.
BLA head of policy and legislation Thato Gaokgwathe said in the letter it was unfair 25% of the selection criteria was centred on previous involvement with the Zondo Commission.
“The functional requirements are designed to favour firstly, only very few firms,” he wrote adding that this requirement is loaded in favour of big white law firms.
The BLA further took issue with the time frames of the RFP, which was issued on January 14 and closed on Monday.
“In light of the above we propose that the evaluation of the bids be halted and bid specifications be discussed with due regard to transparency and more importantly the transformation of the legal profession and society at large, with a view to making them accommodative of a larger number of law firms especially small black law firms.”
Zondo has heard the testimony of how several former Eskom executives and board members collaborated with the Gupta family to loot Eskom.
Eskom did not respond to questions.
To read more political news and views, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
