State-owned power utility Eskom said its efforts to root out corruption and fraud gained a significant boost when the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court this week sentenced a former Eskom employee and a supplier to an effective 20 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty on 53 counts of fraud and theft that cost Eskom R35-million.

Former Eskom financial controller Mosai Barnard Moraka and Eskom service provider Victor Vilosi Tshabalala stole the money through a corrupt scam between January 2016 and September 2018 by creating fictitious invoices and payment for services not rendered by Meagra Transportation, a company owned by Tshabalala.

They were arrested in October 2019, following an investigation initiated by Eskom’s Audit and Forensics department. The pair were immediately taken into custody following the judgment on March 29 to begin their sentence.

The court also granted an order where both thieves will forfeit their respective properties to the State. The properties were placed under a preservation order in November 2021 and will now be sold. The proceeds will be paid directly to Eskom.

“While the sums involved in this particular case are relatively modest, the conviction and sentencing of these criminals should send a strong message to all Eskom employees that corrupt elements have no place in the organisation,” said Eskom CE André de Ruyter.

“This is another welcome milestone in Eskom’s efforts to weed out corruption within its ranks. This is only one of the many cases of corruption that Eskom is pursuing involving staff,” he said.

Magistrate Emmanuel Magampa said the pair were motivated by greed and that he had no choice but to impose the guaranteed 20 years’ imprisonment for the convictions.

The crime of fraud at State-owned companies drains the country’s resources through the billions in cash bailouts that the government must keep advancing to stricken parastatals, he said.

“As an Eskom employee, Moraka was in a position of trust, which placed in him the duty not only to be vigilant and diligent in dealing with Eskom’s resources, but also to be very protective and to jealously safeguard against theft,” said Magampa.

Moraka was convicted for fraudulently creating 53 invoices and then paying Meagra Transportation, Eskom said.

The proceeds of the crime were squandered on expensive overseas travel, including holiday trips to places like Disneyland in the US and Paris, in France, and the acquisition of luxury motor vehicles and other properties, it added.