Johannesburg - Eskom acting chief executive Matshela Koko on Tuesday took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with diversified resources group Exxaro’s move to reduce its empowerment ownership from more than 50 percent to 30 percent.In November last year, Exxaro announced a new black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme after the expiry of the previous empowerment scheme’s 10-year lock-in period.
So Exxaro decides to show @Eskom_SA a finger instead of radically transforming and has no decency to even engage on this matter. https://t.co/1DKnfovIWu
— Matshela Koko (@koko_matshela) January 2, 2017
But Exxaro’s decision has raised eyebrows because of Eskom’s coal procurement policy, which requires all the mines that supply coal to its power stations to have a black ownership target of more than 50percent throughout the life of the mine.
Until November 28, BEE entity Main Street 333 owned 50.19 percent of Exxaro.
Read also: Eskom, Exxaro in dispute over BEE level
“So Exxaro decides to show [Eskom] a finger instead of radically transforming and has no decency to even engage on this matter,” Koko tweeted.
Soon after Exxaro’s announcement of its mooted empowerment scheme, Eskom said it would seek a meeting with Exxaro “in an effort to understand how they plan to comply with the 50percent-plus policy requirements".