Pretoria - The civil rights organisation AfriForum has taken legal action against Eskom to obtain information regarding the power supplier’s controversial contracts.
On July 12, 2022, the lobby group served an application to the power utility in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
In the application, AfriForum demanded information on active contracts that Eskom had with various service providers, including coal suppliers and transport companies.
The organisation said Eskom responded to the application. However, key information was redacted and withheld.
AfriForum was not happy with this and filed an internal appeal on September 28, 2022, pointing out Eskom did not provide an adequate explanation of why the information was withheld.
According to the organisation, Eskom did not respond to the internal appeal. Hence, they were forced to take legal action to obtain a court order obliging Eskom to release said information.
“Eskom’s failure is causing incalculable damage to the country. That is why AfriForum is fighting in court for transparency and so that the information about Eskom’s contracts is made public.
“If AfriForum succeeds with the application and any irregularities are found, action will be taken against Eskom in the strictest possible way,” said AfriForum’s campaign officer for strategy and content, Reiner Duvenage.
IOL