Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter
Photo by: Donna Slater
Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter only submitted a report to law enforcement authorities on corruption at the utility the day before he appeared in Parliament in April, and long after he had resigned from the company, Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya told MPs on Tuesday.
A public official is required by the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) to report evidence of corruption that involves amounts greater than R100 000. And, following the controversial interview De Ruyter gave to e.tv in February at which he alleged that senior politicians were involved in corruption at Eskom, both the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and the Special Investigating Unit reached out to him requesting an interview, to which the former CEO did not respond.
Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) was hearing evidence from the SA Police Service, the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit on Tuesday on their response to De Ruyter's allegations and his decision to institute a private investigation at Eskom.
On 26 April De Ruyter refused to tell Scopa the identity of a "senior politician" who is implicated in corruption at the power utility, citing security risks and the possibility of legal action against him.
He sidestepped the question multiple times and would not even reveal at which level of government the politician is involved. He indicated that he had informed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and President Cyril Ramaphosa's national security advisor, Sydney Mufamadi, of the information he had. He said that they would be best placed to provide more information about the identity of the person.
De Ruyter also said that he had reported the suspected criminal activity as a legal duty in terms of the Precca.