Kusile Power Station, located near eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, represents perhaps the most catastrophic single infrastructure project in South African history. Conceived in 2007 alongside Medupi, it was originally budgeted at approximately R80 billion with a 2014 completion target. It was finally completed in September 2025 — over a decade late — at a final cost of R233 billion (US$15.76 billion), earning the distinction of being described as "the most expensive coal power plant in the history of mankind."
THE HITACHI/CHANCELLOR HOUSE BRIBES: The boiler contract for Kusile was awarded to Hitachi Power Africa. The US Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently found that Hitachi made corrupt payments totalling US$6 million to Chancellor House Holdings — the ANC's investment vehicle — to secure the Kusile boiler contract ($2.7B) alongside the Medupi contract ($2.9B). Hitachi paid a US$19 million SEC settlement. Chancellor House was never prosecuted in South Africa. This represents a direct line between ANC party financing and the quality of South Africa's electricity infrastructure.
THE ABB/IMPULSE KICKBACK SCHEME: ABB, the Swiss-Swedish multinational, was awarded an irregular R2.2 billion contract at Kusile. ABB then subcontracted to Impulse International — a company owned by Koketso Choma, the stepdaughter of senior Eskom executive Matshela Koko. This was a textbook conflict-of-interest kickback arrangement. ABB ultimately settled with Eskom for R1.577 billion in December 2020 and paid a further $315 million in a global bribery probe.
PROCUREMENT FRAUD: In March 2025, six individuals were arrested for Kusile procurement fraud. The case exemplified the petty-yet-systematic corruption: a pump procured for R857,977 in 2018 had been purchased for just R18,835 in 2015 — a 4,500% markup. This pattern was replicated across thousands of procurement items.
THE LOAD-SHEDDING CONNECTION: Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter publicly stated that the corrupt Kusile and Medupi procurement directly caused the severity of South Africa's load-shedding crisis. The Hitachi/Chancellor House bribes compromised the quality of boiler design and construction, leading to chronic technical failures. Every unit at Kusile has experienced breakdowns, some catastrophic. The decade of delays meant South Africa went without 4,800MW of needed capacity for years longer than planned — while the country suffered Stage 6 load shedding.
The final cost of R233 billion represents approximately R150 billion in cost overruns — money that could have funded 750,000 RDP houses, or equipped every public school in the country, or built three entire metro rail systems.