Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan will be questioned by the parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) as one of the officials mentioned by the former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter in his submission to the committee.
Scopa stated that it will invite all the parties which De Ruyter had stated that he had told them about the alleged corruption at the power utility.
The former Eskom head, who is currently in hiding, appeared virtually before the committee to explain the allegations he made about the involvement high-ranking officials in government and politics in corruption at the power utility in an the interview with news channel eNCA.
In the interview, he claimed there had been a minister and a senior politician who were made aware of the entrenched graft taking place at the power utility, and participated in it.
De Ruyter was asked to reveal the names of the said minister and senior politician. However, he declined citing security and legal concerns which could also jeopardise an ongoing investigation into corruption at Eskom.
This week, De Ruyter told the committee he had reported two high-ranking officials to Gordhan and that the minister was the right person to answer for himself.
The De Ruyter submission prompted Scopa to invite Gordhan, the investigation team which includes the Hawks, Special Investigating Unit, the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Police Service, the Eskom board and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s adviser Dr Sydney Mufamadi and the State Security Agency.
Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said De Ruyter’s refusal to identify the senior politician allegedly involved in corruption at Eskom threw the wrench in the works, and this prompted the committee to get all the names the former CEO had mentioned to appear before Scopa.
“The committee plans to meet these cited parties to get more information on the allegations made by Mr De Ruyter.
“Mr De Ruyter has told Scopa to contact the Hawks, Mr Gordhan and Dr Mufamadi for further details on the allegations that he made in the eNCA interview.
“He indicated that he reported the identity of a high-ranking politician as well as individuals he referred to in his interview as allegedly involved in criminal activities in Eskom to Mr Gordhan, Dr Mufamadi and the Hawks.
“The committee informed Mr De Ruyter that parliament is able to offer him protection against any legal action through the powers and privileges provision, however, he indicated that he does not want to jeorpadise the ongoing investigation by law enforcement agencies into Eskom. The committee believes that De Ruyter missed an opportunity to take the nation into his confidence on these matters,” said Hlengwa.
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