Former Eskom CEO, Andre De Ruyter.
The South African United Business Confederation (SAUBC) has said that it is concerned with regard to the allegations made in the interview between Andre De Ruyter and eTV’s Annika Larsen, Tuesday, 21 February.
De Ruyter slammed Eskom’s entrenched corruption, claiming that “R1 billion is stolen from Eskom every month.”
He also criticised the Department of Public Enterprises as direct controllers of Eskom; “the criminality causes obstruction to the power utility”.
“Due to the numerous allegations made against the state-owned entity Eskom, SAUBC calls for urgent interventions by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Hawks to get into the core of these allegations. Eskom load-shedding continues to cripple our economy and businesses at large in South Africa, SAUBC is strict and vigilant to Eskom with an aim to lead the turnaround of Eskom into a functional public enterprise that provides the country with stable and reliable electricity,” the confederation said on Friday.
“The unproven corruption allegations made by De Ruyter are truly of a very serious nature, mainly because they include government officials who are responsible and we liaise with on plans to strengthen Eskom’s electricity sufficiency,” SAUBC further stated.
SAUBC said it further expected an immediate response from the Eskom board and the South African government to certify that facts are uncovered and dealt with as a matter of emergency.
“As these allegations tarnish the ability of our government and Eskom itself, SAUBC calls for a transparent utilisation of funds that were allocated on the 2023 Budget, clear implementation of the Eskom recovery plan, transparency on big procurement tenders and Just Energy Transition fund allocated. As we look forward to the discovery of the real truth, therefore SAUBC is rather very disappointed with the allegations’ timing and anxious to know if De Ruyter has laid charges on all involved persons. We call upon the president together with the Eskom Board to urgently initiate a commission of enquiry with all mentioned parties for further elaboration and clarity” says SAUBC President George Sebulela.
“We congratulate the Eskom Board on a swift appointment of an interim CEO, who has over 20 years of service in Eskom and extensive experience with a deep understanding and appreciation of the Eskom business and the electricity industry, especially regarding the challenges facing the financing of operations and future expansion of the industry and we request the board to finalise his permanent appointment,” the federation further stated.
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