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Eskom on Wednesday welcomed the decision by the Constitutional Court to dismiss the application by nuclear services provider Westinghouse to review the award of the tender for the replacement of the six steam generators at the Koeberg power station, in Cape Town.
Eskom had, in June 2012, called for expressions of interest for the replacement of the generators for Koeberg and in June 2014 the Eskom board tender committee (BTC) decided to invite Westinghouse Belgium and French energy company Areva, the two bidders for tender negotiations. Eskom awarded the multibillion-rand tender to Areva in August 2014.
Westinghouse Belgium then brought a review application in the High Court to have the tender awarded reviewed and set aside. The High Court dismissed the review application with costs.
The Supreme Court of Appeal turned down Westinghouse Belgium’s plea that the tender be awarded to it and instead remitted it to Eskom for reconsideration.
Areva and Eskom then applied to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Justice Raymond Zondo noted the minority judgment by deputy chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke with acting Justice Ronnie Bosielo, which stated that Eskom was “truly meticulous and proper in its assessment of the bids”.
“The evidence suggests that the BTC process was a hallmark of careful consideration of all relevant factors,” they stated.
Further, the minority judgment stated that: “Westinghouse’s claim that certain vital strategic tender requirements were irregularly considered mid-stream is not supported by a careful evaluation of the tender process. In my respectful view the Supreme Court of Appeal erred by finding that the strategic consideration fell outside the bid evaluation criteria.”
Wednesday’s judgment confirmed that Eskom followed a robust governance process in the awarding of the contracts, the parastatal said.