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..”.