Scopa resolves to call Eskom board, Gordhan over De Ruyter’s claims

Parliament has resolved to call senior government officials to answer allegations of corruption at Eskom made by former CEO André de Ruyter.

Members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) were left frustrated as De Ruyter refused to answer questions on the identity of the senior politician who was allegedly involved in wrongdoing and criminality at Eskom.

De Ruyter also did not the divulge the name of the minister who said that “in order to pursue the greater good you have to enable some people to eat a little bit” when he raised his concern over the COP27 $8.5 billion for South Africa’s just energy transition.

‘Next cause of action’

Deliberating on the way forward, ANC MP Bheki Hadebe said Scopa should invoke the relevant clause to summon De Ruyter to give further information beyond the affidavit he submitted to the committee.

“We need to have information at our disposal in order for us to determine the next cause of action,” he said.

Hadebe proposed that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, national security advisor Sydney Mufamadi, the Hawks and Eskom’s board appear before Scopa to address the issues raised by De Ruyter.

“We still have to dig further for us to arrive at exact action on whether or not we should go for a full blown inquiry.”

ALSO READ: ‘Too many cooks in the kitchen’: De Ruyter says he resigned due to Gordhan, new Eskom board

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Benedicta Van Minnen agreed with Hadebe’s suggestion.

“I think we need to have quite a broad approach to gathering as much information as we can, if not to uncover the actually allegations that may or may not then interfere with the investigation, but to certainly as Scopa get an idea what is going on,” she said.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Veronica Mente insisted that an inquiry was the best platform for all Eskom-related issues to be dealt with, because people will be “forced to speak the truth” and be honest without “short-circuiting” Parliament.

“We need a strong legal base and a mechanism that’s going to force everyone to not lie to Parliament -and] to give information that the public is looking for [so they could] understand why we are still in the darkness.”

‘Nothing new’

Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa indicated that the committee will send further written questions to De Ruyter about interventions by Gordhan in micromanaging the board, among other matters.

The committee is expected to meet on 3 May and 9 May.

“Next week Wednesday let’s get the board in, the minister and the advisor then the 9th of May we [call] the AG [auditor-general], the Hawks, NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] and national [police] commissioner to come in. We will then take a decision moving forward,” Hlengwa said.

READ MORE: Ramaphosa says it’s not his job to find out which ministers are allegedly involved in Eskom graft

Following De Ruyter’s appearance before Scopa, Eskom issued a brief statement, saying that there is “nothing new” that has surfaced that was not already being dealt with by the authorities.

“Eskom remains steadfast on a path to restore the ethical fibre of the company,” the utility said on Wednesday.

Eskom has noted that nothing new surfaced from today’s appearance of André de Ruyter in Parliament that is not already dealt with by law enforcement agencies. Eskom remains steadfast on a path to restore the ethical fibre of the company.

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) April 26, 2023

De Ruyter had explained to the committee that he did not want to name the politicians due to “security risks” as this may compromise ongoing law enforcement investigations.

He also raised concern over the potential civil or criminal.

“There is already a highly litigious environment that has arisen around Eskom and my tenure as chief executive. I would be loath to expose myself to any further legal action,” he said on Wednesday.

NOW READ: Prove that De Ruyter is a liar instead of asking him for names publicly