Supreme Court Rules Against Eskom, Coal and Diesel Contracts Must Be Disclosed to Public

• The Supreme Court has dismissed Eskom's appeal for confidentiality of coal and diesel contracts
• Eskom must release all details of the contracts due to public access rights under PAIA
• AfriForum aims to analyse the contracts for transparency following the court ruling

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

GAUTENG, PRETORIA - The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed Eskom’s attempt to keep details of its coal and diesel contracts confidential, ruling that the utility must hand over the documents to AfriForum.

Access to Eskom's coal and diesel contracts

According to the Daily Investor, the dispute began four years ago when AfriForum submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) seeking access to Eskom's coal and diesel contracts. Eskom refused, citing legal provisions allowing it to withhold commercially sensitive information, which led to litigation. In March 2024, the Pretoria High Court ordered Eskom to provide copies of all active contracts related to the purchase, transport and distribution of coal and diesel, as well as unredacted agreements for electricity supply to neighbouring countries.

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Eskom then appealed the ruling, arguing before the SCA that disclosing the contracts would expose commercially sensitive information and harm its negotiating position under Sections 36 and 42 of PAIA. In a judgment delivered on Monday, 23 March 2026, Judge Elizabeth Baartman rejected this argument, stating that the public has a right to access the contracts. She said the reasons presented by Eskom did not meet the legal threshold required to justify withholding the information.

Dismissed Eskom's appeal

Baartman said there was no evidence to support claims that the agreements were confidential or that disclosure would disadvantage Eskom or third parties. She added that the alleged harm was neither probable nor reasonably apprehended, and therefore, the contracts should be disclosed. While the court found that the High Court had applied the incorrect legal test, it ruled that the outcome was correct and dismissed Eskom's appeal, including the costs of two counsel.

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Following the ruling, AfriForum's manager for local government affairs, Morné Mostert, said the organisation would now be able to assess whether Eskom's coal and diesel contracts were market-related and lawfully concluded. Mostert said Eskom procures more than 100 megatonnes of coal annually, making it one of its largest expenses, and added that transparency was necessary given past concerns about procurement processes, findings from the Zondo Commission, and issues raised in Eskom's financial statements. He said AfriForum plans to assemble a team of experts to analyse the contracts, describing the judgment as a significant step towards accountability and transparency.

Eskom Chairperson admits to service delivery quality challenges

Briefly News also reported that Eskom’s chairperson, Mteto Nyathi, had pleaded with South Africans to be patient with the state-owned enterprise.

He spoke at the BizNews conference held at Hermanus in the Western Cape, where he admitted that the power utility faced service delivery problems.

Source: Briefly News