DA tables urgent establishment of ad hoc parliamentary committee to investigate corruption at Eskom
28 February 2023
Note to Editors: An Afrikaans voicenote is attached here and English here.
I have today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to request the urgent establishment of an ad hoc parliamentary committee to investigate serious allegations of systemic ANC corruption at Eskom.
Ex-CEO Andre De Ruyter’s eNCA interview last week strongly suggests that Eskom power stations, the heartbeat of the nation’s economy, are under siege from a corrupt network of ANC-connected cartels. Some allegations point to the involvement of individuals who currently serve in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
The nation needs to know the full, unvarnished truth. The allegations suggest that the ANC is systematically sabotaging South Africa’s electricity system to further its own corrupt aims. If true, this is treason – an unforgivable betrayal of the country by the governing party.
Parliament needs to take the lead and institute a thorough inquiry into the full extent of the ANC’s criminal capture at Eskom. An ad hoc parliamentary committee will have the power to subpoena any individual it deems necessary to come before it for questioning, including Mr De Ruyter himself. The inquiry will have the power to provide recommendations for further action based on the testimonies and evidence gathered.
The question of whether to establish an ad hoc committee would be debated and voted on in the plenary of 16 March 2023.
The ANC has been vocal in denying its involvement in corruption at Eskom. If the governing party is indeed innocent, it should strongly support the DA’s request for an ad hoc parliamentary committee, both to clear its name and to identify the true perpetrators of Eskom corruption. This should be the first step in bringing an end to the criminal capture of our institutions and state-owned entities by the ANC, and an end to the ANC-created load shedding disaster.
Issued by John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 28 February 2023
