EDITORIAL | Pravin Gordhan can’t be insulated from De Ruyter’s Eskom bombshells

I don’t know. I can’t remember. 

Words that do not inspire confidence. Why? Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan used them to answer a pointed question in a television interview: “Did that happen?” 

It revolved around a claim by former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter in an earlier TV  interview about having informed an (unnamed) government minister about a “high-level politician” involved in criminality at Eskom.  

“So, when we pointed out that there was one particular high-level politician that was involved in this, the minister in question looked at senior officials and said, ‘I guess it was inevitable that it would come out anyway’,” is what De Ruyter recalled of the meeting. 

The question on everybody’s lips was, who? 

Gordhan, a vocal critic of state capture and the damage it inflicted on SA, initially went on the offensive in response to the bombshells, which suggested the power utility was a “feeding trough” for the ruling party, dropped by De Ruyter.  

“I am sure that there are some good things that he has done, and so we cannot take that away from him. At the same time, to engage in the incorrect narrative coming out of that interview is just completely shocking,” said Gordhan.  

But then came Gordhan’s interview with Newzroom Afrika, confirming he had been party to that discussion. 

“Did that happen?” he was asked.

“I don’t know, I can’t remember, but whether it did or not is still immaterial,” he replied, steering the conversation towards load-shedding. 

Yes, he has made allusions about certain individuals, but it was precisely that, allusions. And as far as the law is concerned, as far as my understanding of the law is concerned, I can’t just arbitrarily point to someone and say that person is involved in whatever the suggestion is.

—  Pravin Gordhan

Gordhan was correct to insist De Ruyter take “evidence” of such criminality by the unnamed politician to the relevant authorities — if not already done, one would assume, as investigations continue into the rot that has siphoned vast sums of cash from the SOE. 

Gordhan’s response to the allegations, however, came across as tone deaf to the plight of millions inconvenienced by rolling daily blackouts and anybody trying to run a business — be it big, small or informal — getting pummelled by load-shedding. The citizenry is fed up and wants to see swift action to resolve the energy crisis. Heads must roll, if need be. 

Gordhan — who the country rallied behind after being axed as finance minister by former president Jacob Zuma in a 2017 cabinet reshuffle — at that time implored the nation to “connect the dots” and see “who stands to benefit” from state capture. But there was no such sense of urgency this time around, it seems. 

“Yes, he has made allusions about certain individuals, but it was precisely that, allusions. And as far as the law is concerned, as far as my understanding of the law is concerned, I can’t just arbitrarily point to someone and say that person is involved in whatever the suggestion is,” said Gordhan. “There’s a distinction between that and evidence.” 

And just leave it at that? 

Not good enough, minister Gordhan. We were not privy to the entire conversation, but one would have expected more, given the government’s commitment to clean administration and root out corruption, than just passing the baton. 

Would it not have been prudent to immediately seek more information, ensure whatever evidence the departing CEO had was in the hands of law enforcement? What about taking the president into your confidence and raising a red flag?  

Especially considering that Gordhan volunteered, in the same television interview, that he believed De Ruyter had the evidence, given his involvement in investigations at the utility, into the various mafias operating there? 

Gordhan’s words may one day prove to be as stinging as the infamous Koeberg “bolt in the generator” comment by former public enterprises Alec Erwin.