André de Ruyter hearing: Rejection of parliamentary inquiry by ANC to blame for lack of answers
26 April 2023
"Once again, as they have consistently done before, the ANC put up a pretentious performance today in SCOPA to cover up their original sin of voting against a Parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom corruption. If anything, the ANC carries the blame of covering up corruption at Eskom that has hollowed out the entity and plunged the country into darkness."
The reluctance by former Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, to divulge the identities of individuals whom he alleged were involved in corruption at Eskom, did not come as a surprise and the blame should be placed squarely on the ANC.
On 23 March 2023, the ANC used its majority in Parliament to vote against a DA motion that called for the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations of rampant corruption and criminal cartels operating at Eskom that involved high-ranking ANC politicians.
Had the ANC not voted against the DA motion, a parliamentary inquiry would have compelled any witnesses in an Eskom corruption probe to comply with section 16 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act, which provides that “…A person who is being examined under oath or amation in terms of section 15 may be required to answer any question put to him or her in connection with the subject 25 of the enquiry..”.
Today’s session before SCOPA was just a hearing and De Ruyter was not participating under oath. This made it impossible for SCOPA to force him to make disclosures which he presumed would place him at variance with the law and open him up to criminal prosecution.
The attempts by some ANC members to propose that De Ruyter takes an oath, to force disclosures from him, midway through the hearing was disingenuous because the hearing was not originally framed as a parliamentary inquiry.
Once again, as they have consistently done before, the ANC put up a pretentious performance today in SCOPA to cover up their original sin of voting against a parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom corruption. If anything, the ANC carries the blame of covering up corruption at Eskom that has hollowed out the entity and plunged the country into darkness.
Going forward, we will use our presence in SCOPA to ask that all the law enforcement agencies that De Ruyter reported the allegations of corruption be summoned to appear before the committee. They must provide an update of their investigations and the identities of the individuals who are being investigated for corrupt activities at Eskom.
Rejecting the DA’s call for a parliamentary inquiry was a lost opportunity to uncover the rot that has taken root at Eskom. Even with the rebuke that Parliament received from the Zondo Commission of inquiry of failing to fulfil its constitutional oversight role, the ANC has once again debased the institution by refusing to investigate the criminal cartels that now hold sway at Eskom.
Issued by Benedicta van Minnen, DA Member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, 26 April 2023
