Eskom Restores Full Tender Reviews After Disclosing R38 Billion in Irregular Diesel Spending

South Africa's state-owned electricity utility Eskom has reinstated comprehensive checks on high-value procurement after confirming failures in how diesel-supply payments and emergency approvals were managed. Its 30 October statement sets out the distinction between breaches of spending rules and allegations about the award of a supply contract that its legal review did not substantiate.

Eskom said an independent audit found no evidence that diesel it paid for was missing. A separate legal assessment could not substantiate allegations that the award process for tender MWP2197GX had been compromised. The utility nevertheless confirmed that some supplier payments fell outside contractual terms and that some emergency approvals did not follow its Delegation of Authority, the internal framework specifying who can authorize decisions.

The company also acknowledged payments outside contractual terms under earlier fuel-supply contracts that ran from 2019 to December 2024. Eskom's Loss Control Function classified approximately 38 billion rand of expenditure as irregular in June 2026. That is a finding about compliance with spending rules, not a finding that 38 billion rand was stolen, lost or spent on fuel that was not delivered. The amount relates to the previous contracts and must not be conflated with payments under the current tender.

The utility attributed the emergency decisions to severe operating pressures between January and March 2025, including generator breakdowns, delayed maintenance returns and constrained pumped-storage reserves. It also acknowledged that difficult operating conditions did not remove its obligation to follow procurement and financial controls.

Eskom says it discontinued a central panel conducting full probity reviews of procurement above 500 million rand in October 2022, citing cost and a low rate of adverse findings. Subsequent external checks were narrower, focusing on issues such as bribery, fraud and money laundering. Full reviews were reinstated for some transactions from late 2025 and, since May 2026, apply to all high-value tenders. The board's authority has also been adjusted so it provides strategic guidance rather than participating in individual procurement decisions.

The public record leaves a separate accountability question unresolved: the 30 October statement does not identify which officials approved the non-compliant payments or give a timetable for disciplinary outcomes. Eskom says substantiated findings are being addressed through its internal consequence-management process. Reporting by Green Building Africa also notes that no responsible individuals or completed disciplinary decisions were named. Further scrutiny should distinguish those outstanding disclosures from the utility's documented findings and from allegations its review did not support.

The changes matter beyond a single diesel contract. Procurement controls at a publicly owned electricity provider affect how emergency power-system needs are met, how suppliers are paid and whether public resources can be traced through documented approvals. The evidence currently supports a finding of governance failures and subsequent control changes; it does not establish criminal wrongdoing by any named person.