Who will bear cost of Eskom’s supplier empowerment drive?
Pursuit of 51% black ownership is least likely to affect dominant players, writes Allan Seccombe
There will be a cost to Eskom’s drive for 51% black ownership of the mines providing coal to its power plants, but the big miners controlling the majority of sales to the utility are largely protected by long-term contracts, shielding them from these demands. This push stems from a drive by the Department of Public Enterprises to have half of Eskom’s coal bought from black-owned coal mining companies to transform the ownership of the coal sector, which is dominated by four companies — three of which are foreign-owned. Exxaro Resources, one of the big four, was majority blackowned, but when its empowerment levels fell to 30% after a decade-old ownership deal expired, Eskom leadership was incandescent with rage. Miningmx quoted interim Eskom CE Matshela Koko as saying Exxaro’s ownership decision was a "slap in the face". A senior figure in the coal industry says Eskom can throw a tantrum about the black ownership levels of its major suppliers, but long-term contracts spanning decades ...
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