Page 8 - AfrElec Week 13 2021

AfrElec LENDING AfrElec

and to the public sector. It also provides it at from Canada and sub-Saharan Africa to explore
affordable levels for countries…What I like most innovative ways to grow their economies, while
about it is that it looks at multi-sectoral use of reducing emissions and building resilience to
this financing…all these things are very impor- climate change.
tant to support Africa in climate adaptation and The symposium also included a trade policy
mitigation,” Adesina said. “Canada has always discussion on environmental considerations in
been there for Africa…Canada is a great friend international trade and the promotion of rules-
of Africa.” based trade.
The AfDB’s financing for climate change has Canada, one of the AfDB’s key non-regional
increased fourfold from 9% of its total portfo- members, has participated in all the Group’s
lio in 2016, to 36% by 2019, and is on track to capital increases. This includes its Seventh
achieve its target of 40% of the bank’s total port- General Capital Increase, the replenishments
folio by the end of 2021. The Bank has commit- of the African Development Fund, including
ted to providing $25 billion in climate financing the 15th replenishment of the Fund (ADF-15),
by 2025. with a 7.5% increase in AfDB Units of Account
The Canada-Africa Clean Growth Sym- (UA) terms. It has also contributed to numerous
posium, co-hosted by Canada, Ethiopia and trust funds and initiatives managed by the Bank
Senegal, brings together economic and busi- Group.™
ness leaders from the public and private sectors

ESKOM

Eskom official calls for

Ramaphosa to testify

SOUTH AFRICA ESKOM’S former head of generation Matshela allegations.
Koko has called for President Cyril Rama- “I just want to find out if Mr Ramaphosa
phosa to answer questions by the Commission has been served with a rule 3.3 notice like we
of Inquiry into State Capture on allegations of all have. Because I really want to know why Mr
political interference at the power utility. Ramaphosa interfered in the affairs of Eskom
The Eskom executive, who was suspended in by instructing the board of Eskom, which was
March 2015, told the commission in December yet to meet, to dismiss me – an instruction
that this week that the president had interfered that the Labour Court found to be unlawful
in the running of the state-owned entity and because, just after I left, between 2018 and 2020
had been behind his 2015 suspension from the ZAR266bn was lost as a result of load-shedding
company. that occurred after I left.”
Koko and three other executives were sus- Advocate Pule Seleka, the evidence leader for
pended in March 2015 while an investigation the commission, first took issue with the fact that
into Eskom was being conducted. Koko had never mentioned these allegations in
Koko maintained that Ramaphosa had inter- his affidavit. Koko said he had done so, but had
fered in the running of Eskom between 2012 and just cited it as the “presidency”.
2014. The claims made by Koko were also made
He claimed that Ramaphosa had done this by former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe
because of a debt of over ZAR1bn ($57mn) when he appeared at the inquiry in January.
owed by the Optimum coal mine, which was Molefe said Ramaphosa was a chairperson
then owned by Glencore. of Optimum Coal Mine, which was owned by
Koko believes that Ramaphosa’s interference Glencore, in 2012, where he also held a share-
was linked to ensuring that this debt was not holding of 9.64%.
paid back. The Optimum coal mine was later He further said that Glencore sought to rene-
acquired by Gupta-linked Tegeta. gotiate the contract it had with the power utility,
Earlier this week, Koko began his testimony which would have seen it pay more than ZAR150
by asking the commission’s chairperson, Deputy ($8.6) per tonne for coal and also dismiss the
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, whether Rama- penalties set by the entity.
phosa had been issued with a rule 3.3 notice Molefe added that Ramaphosa was con-
regarding these claims. flicted. Ramaphosa is expected to appear at the
He said he would not be able to rest at night inquiry from April 22 and 23 and on April 28
if Ramaphosa did not come and answer the and 29.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 13 01•April•2021