Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter. Picture: Moneyweb
Sacked Eskom chief procurement officer (CPO) Solly Tshitangano said he’s not surprised by the dismissal of allegations of racism he laid against chief executive officer (CEO) Andre De Ruyter, claiming the power utility has a trend of victimising whistleblowers.
Tshitangano had accused De Ruyter of abuse of power, racial discrimination, irregular recruitment and unlawful procurement, but a report by senior advocate Ishmael Semenya, who was appointed by the Eskom board to probe such allegations, dismissed all the claims.
After interviewing witnesses and considering 1107 pages of documents, Semenya reported that Tshitangano denied making allegations that De Ruyter was guilty of racism and preferred a white company over a black-owned company on racial grounds.
Semenya also found no substance to the allegations that De Ruyter had conducted himself in a racist manner, the power utility said.
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“Despite knowing that these allegations were ‘wrong, egregious, false, baseless and lacking any substantiation’, the CPO did not publicly deny them,” said Eskom.
According to Eskom, Advocate Semenya also found that: “no substantiation of poor governance on the part of [De Ruyter] or Eskom. There was no substantiation for the allegation that the recruitment processes were irregular. The claim that the procurement processes were unlawful is also without merit.”
But Tshitangano was not surprised by the findings and told The Citizen that protecting perpetrators is par for the course at Eskom.
“I’m not surprised because there is a known trend that perpetrators are protected and whistleblowers victimised in Eskom.”
“Eskom did not give me the copy of the report. I have requested a copy of the report and audio and transcribed records today [Thursday],” he said.
The former CPO was axed last week following a lengthy disciplinary hearing into charges of gross misconduct, breach of duties and responsibilities and non-performance.
In a hearing chaired by advocate Nazeer Cassim, Tshitangano was found guilty on five charges against him, including serious misconduct in failing to carry out his duties, contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), as well as Eskom’s disciplinary code, by divulging confidential information to external parties.
According to Cassim: “Tshitangano acted dishonourably and has exhibited all the qualities that makes him unsuitable for the position he occupies. He declined the opportunity to deal frankly with serious allegations of misconduct and which impacts on the employment relationship.”
Tshitangano, however, plans to challenge his dismissal, saying the charges were fabricated to silence him.
“[I was] found guilty on trumped up charges that are meant to intimidate whistleblowers. [The] board resolved to investigate the allegations on 18 March 2021 and I was charged on 24 March 2021 for sending letters,” he said.
According to human resources company Global Business Solutions joint CEO Jonathan Goldberg, however, Tshitangano should not only have been dismissed, but should face further action.
He says those who make false accusations against fellow employees, as has been found in the investigation into Tshitangano’s allegations, should face civil charges as they waste money on unnecessary investigations.
“Employees who make false accusations against other employees, as in the recent Eskom CEO case, need to be prosecuted further civilly. These allegations are hugely damaging and cause a massive amount of stress and anxiety to the person who is falsely accused,” Goldberg said.
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