ActionSA calls for urgent investigation into alleged improper interference at Eskom

15 December 2022 

I have today written to the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, Honourable Magaxa, requesting the Committee hold an urgent public inquiry into the alleged improper interference in operational matters at Eskom by the Board of Directors and Ministers Mantashe and Gordhan.

In the wake of the resignation of Mr André de Ruyter as CEO of Eskom, these allegations raise serious concerns about the impact of improper interference on the ability of Eskom’s management to deal with the unprecedented crisis facing South Africa.

While the ANC-manufactured loadshedding is ravaging South Africa’s economy, a Board and politicians that further compound the leadership challenges destabilising Eskom is utterly unacceptable. 

In our request, we ask that the Portfolio Committee:

- Investigate allegations of improper interference by the Board of Directors and the Chairperson of the Board, and whether the alleged interference is a breach of any provisions of the Companies Act or the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA);

- Investigate whether Minister Mantashe’s inflammatory public comments directed at the Executive Management of Eskom are in breach of the Executive Ethics Code’s requirement to act in good faith and in the best interest of good governance;

- Summon Mr Makhwana, as representative of the Board of Directors, Ministers Gordhan and Mantashe, and all members of Eskom’s Executive Committee to appear before the Portfolio Committee to make representations and respond to the allegations; and

- Hold a special sitting to establish the investigation before the end of December, so that the investigation can start as soon as Parliament reopens.

We believe that the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises has the responsibility to conduct oversight into the management of Eskom, and that South Africans have the right to know whether the allegations levelled against the Board of Directors and the Ministers are true.

It is essential that our constitutional institutions start holding those that are continuing to interfere with South Africa’s ability to reach its full potential accountable for their actions.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President, 15 December 2022