SA in the dark about state capture as Zondo commission falls victim to Eskom

The commission of inquiry into state capture was adjourned on Wednesday afternoon due to power cuts.

The ongoing commission, which takes place in Parktown, was affected by a series of power cuts that have been plaguing the area.

Before adjournment, the commission had been hearing testimony from the former minister of public enterprises Barbara Hogan.

Not long before the power cut, she had told the commission’s chair, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that former president Jacob Zuma had called her after midnight and instructed her not to remove Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga from his position.

The irony of a commission investigating alleged misconduct, incompetence, and corruption at energy parastatal Eskom losing power was not lost on the people of Twitter.

Coincidentally, it was reported last week that due to coal shortages, load shedding may soon become a reality again.

Hogan told the inquiry on Monday that she was portrayed as “an anti-transformation racist” by the ANC when she refused to appoint Siyabonga Gama as Transnet chief executive officer.

Hogan says she expected president Jacob Zuma to protect her and back up her decisions, but “the president hung me out to dry”.

Describing her treatment as “inexcusable”, Hogan told of how her 18-month tenure as minister was marked by constant interference in her executive authority by Zuma, the ANC, and the tripartite alliance.

Apart from the information about Eskom that has been coming out at the Zondo inquiry, parliament’s own inquiry into state capture at Eskom has also heard shocking testimony from the state-owned entities’ former senior employees, who placed the Guptas, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, and Zuma in direct collusion with each other.

(Additional reporting by Brian Sokutu)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.