DA welcomes Eskom, SIU summons to recover stolen state capture funds

3 August 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the move by Eskom and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to issue summons in a bid to recover the more than R3.8 billion in stolen funds from the State-Owned Enterprise’s (SOE) former executives, non-executive directors and the Gupta-family.

The DA has long called for SIU reports regarding the looting at the power utility to be made public, and for money stolen to be recovered and the guilty parties to face the full extent of the law. That an attempt is made to finally get back some of the billions stolen, is most certainly a step in the right direction.

In a statement Eskom said of the 12 accused, “All of the former executives and board members breached their fiduciary duty of care and good faith to Eskom, and acted in a concerted state-capture effort, with the Gupta brothers, Mosebenzi Zwane and Salim Aziz Essa to illegally divert funds from Eskom.”

The fact is that the Guptas and their cronies happily bled South Africa dry, and their heinous actions contributed directly to the economic regression the country has suffered, in part due to unreliable power generation.

For too long a blind eye has been turned to the corrupt dealings at Eskom with its resources being treated as a personal piggy bank by those seeking to capture the SOE for nefarious purposes.

With new evidence of corruption being brought to light every day, these summons should serve as a warning to looters and capturers that though the wheels of justice sometimes turn slowly, and despite the many rocks thrown in its path, the wheels do turn. The DA will never stop fighting for the corrupt to be brought to justice, and it’s encouraging to see we are not alone in this fight.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Chief Whip, 3 August 2020