Mabuza must step aside following Eskom kickback scandal

3 May 2021

The DA notes the report by News24 that a foundation registered to Deputy President David Mabuza received a “strategic donation” of R30 million from General Electric through Eskom in 2016 when he was still the Mpumalanga premier.

If the ANC is consistent in the application of its own resolutions, it must add Mabuza to its list of members who should step aside while they’re under investigation for corruption.

Reports reveal that a senior Eskom executive offered the donation to Mabuza's Foundation in 2016 after General Electric had financed part of Eskom's Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Tenders worth R178 160 990.84 awarded by Eskom over the past decade are reportedly tainted by corruption. In fact, the corruption at Eskom is so widespread that Eskom sources, forensic experts and investigators have told News24 that “neither Eskom nor law enforcement agencies have sufficient resources to deal with the vast network of corruption at the company”.

While the South African economy suffers blow after blow from sustained power cuts and is still under threat from loadshedding to this day, fat cats in the ANC and at the parastatal, like Mabuza, felt no shame in bringing the power utility to its knees by looting billions.

Kusile has still not been fully completed and poor performance at the station again led to a recent bout of loadshedding, moreover Kusile is far from the only power plant that has suffered from this large-scale corruption at Eskom.

Deputy President Mabuza has done nothing but eat taxpayers’ money, while many struggles for daily survival. It seems he is as rotten and corrupt as they come.

The DA will request confirmation from Mabuza in Parliament of his complicity in this payoff.

Issued by Ghaleb Cachalia, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 3 May 2021