Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh was suspended on Thursday by the board of directors after lenders threatened to recall their loans if no action was taken against him. Singh has been at the centre of corruption allegations at the power utility that include providing financial assistance to the Guptas to buy Optimum mine through authorising pre-payments and a R1.6bn guarantee for the finance. Eskom confirmed the suspension on Thursday evening. The move is believed to have come after pressure from Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, who this week was confronted by jittery lenders. Eskom has R361bn in debt, of which R94bn is not guaranteed by the government. Top of the list of concerned lenders was the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which threatened to recall a R15bn loan the conditions of which include that Eskom maintain a clean audit. Eskom received a qualified audit last week that included R3bn in unauthorised expenditure and two reportable irregularities, related ...
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