Scopa to call Gordhan, Mufamadi to respond to De Ruyter's corruption allegations

Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) will call public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security adviser Sydney Mufamadi and the Eskom board next Wednesday to respond to allegations of corruption made by former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter.

In addition, the auditor-general, the Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority and national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola will be invited to appear on May 9.

De Ruyter, who appeared virtually before Scopa on Wednesday, refused to name the cabinet minister who allegedly told him to “enable some people to eat” at the utility. He would also not reveal the sources of his information, including the name of a high-ranking politician whom he claimed ran the cartels that were fleecing Eskom.

The former CEO referred MPs to Gordhan, Mufamadi and the Hawks for further information, saying he had shared information gathered during an intelligence operation and that the Hawks were investigating.

He also told MPs he complied with the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) as he reported the alleged corruption to law enforcement authorities and government officials at the highest level.

These steps included a meeting with senior police officials including Masemola and representatives of the State Security Agency (SSA) at Megawatt Park on June 4 last year. At this meeting, De Ruyter said he requested the assistance of both the police and SSA to investigate corruption at Eskom, and to help Eskom in combating crime.

He said after this meeting, a police brigadier was designated by Masemola to be the liaison with the intelligence operation. This officer had full access to all of the intelligence gathered and told De Ruyter he had kept his line command informed.

“Additionally, since changes were made to the management of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, similar exchanges have been held with senior commanders in the province, and I am informed that all applicable information has been put at their disposal.”

De Ruyter said he also reported the matter to then interim chair of the Eskom board, Prof Malegapuru Makgoba, and to the new board led by Mpho Makwana.

De Ruyter said while he was not aware whether Gordhan and Mufamadi informed Ramaphosa about what he had told them, in his state of the nation address in February, the president said: “The SA Police Service has established a dedicated team with senior leadership to deal with the pervasive corruption and theft at several power stations that has contributed to the poor performance of these stations. Intelligence-driven operations at Eskom-related sites have so far resulted in 43 arrests.”

The fact that the arrests took place, and a dedicated team was established, was corroborative evidence that intelligence related to alleged corruption had been shared with law enforcement authorities and they were acting on it, he said.

Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa said questions that the invited people and bodies will have to answer include:

• This (corruption) was reported to you, or was it?
• If it was, what did you do about it and how far are you with it?
• If there is an investigation in place, how far is it and when will it be concluded?

He said with that information, the committee would know how to proceed and whether a full-blown inquiry was necessary.

MPs were not satisfied with De Ruyter’s appearance as he was reluctant to share information that he said might compromise investigations and/or expose him to legal action.

The committee resolved to send him written questions and possibly invite him back after hearing from the entities that Scopa has lined up to speak on the matter.

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