South African lawmakers plan probe into emergency power contracts

3rd August 2021 By: Bloomberg

South African lawmakers plan to probe the country’s emergency power procurement program, the bulk of which was won by Turkey’s Karpowership.

A program and terms of reference will be drawn up by the Mineral Resources and Energy Portfolio Committee, its chairman, Zet Luzipo, a lawmaker for the ruling African National Congress, said on Tuesday.

Gwede Mantashe, the energy minister, will be the first to testify and DNG Energy, a losing bidder that has filed a lawsuit alleging corruption in the process, will also be invited to speak, he said.

The tender aims to provide South Africa with about 2 000 MW of power by August next year and is yet to be finalized as the date for so-called financial close has been extended by two months until the end of September.

The appointment of Karpowership, which produces power from gas-fired plants mounted on ships, as a preferred bidder has been challenged by DNG and environmentalists.