EFF statement on the corruption by Eskom COO
21 July 2020
The Economic Freedom Fighters notes the release by Eskom of the investigation done by Advocate Cassiem on the allegations of impropriety against their Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberlhozer. Advocate Nazeer Cassiem concluded his report on the 4th of April 2020, and in it, he concludes that Jan Oberlhozer must be disciplined for a complete disregard of Eskom policies.
On the allegations that Oberlhozer actively promoted the interest of Aveng, a company that has conducted business with Eskom, and which is now litigating against Eskom, by instructing a subordinate to pay the company an amount of R42 million, Advocate Cassiem found that Oberlhozer owes a duty of good faith to his employer, and recommended that:
"a disciplinary process be initiated in order to enable proper ventilation of this issue to be determined in a disciplinary hearing. More so, having in mind the intervention of representatives of the Zondo Commission who have made, it would appear, certain preliminary findings on this very issue. Eskom must factor into consideration that such payment is presently part of litigation between Eskom and Aveng. However, in the interest of transparency, accountability and fair play, there is no reason why this issue cannot be the subject matter of a disciplinary hearing. "
The report also finds that Oberlhozer did not excuse himself from deliberations that concerned Stefannuti Stocks, a company he has shares on. It is now common knowledge that Steffanutti Stocks got an overpayment of an amount of RI billion from Eskom. To this day, there has been no proper explanation as to why this happened.