PHUTI MOSOMANE
MINISTER of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, addressed the Select Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and expressed concerns regarding former Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter’s alleged attempts to create divisions along racial lines.
Gordhan appeared before Scopa as part of its investigation into corruption at Eskom, prompted by allegations made by De Ruyter.
Gordhan raised the issue of potential breaches of confidentiality clauses by De Ruyter, who had written a book divulging events that occurred during his time as CEO of Eskom.
“In no big institution like Eskom in the private sector, would you have a CEO who has left for whatever reason, writing chapter and verse about events that have been taking place in the company itself.”
“There’s a clause 15 he signed which requires confidentiality in the entity he served. No CEO who has left for any reason, writes chapters about what happens in the company. He seems to remember the 1980s “swart gevaar”, labelling us as communists etc. Worst insults,” said Gordhan.
During his testimony before the committee, Gordhan revealed that he had received a media interview featuring De Ruyter and was taken aback by its contents.
He promptly forwarded the interview to De Ruyter, expressing his concerns.
However, Gordhan added that he never received a response from De Ruyter regarding the matter.
“The board looked at it and they are the ones that engaged him and subsequently decided to release him,” he said.
He rejected allegations made by De Ruyter that he interfered at Eskom and various power stations around the country.
“I’m not an engineer, I was trained as a pharmacist. So how do I give engineering instructions at power stations? There’s no micromanaging. What we have here is a CEO who thought he’s a know-all and he certainly hadn’t worked in a power station situation before,” Gordhan said.
Scopa chairperson Mhuleko Hlengwa highlighted the fact that it was put on record that former was not cooperating when needed to be vetted for the position.
Gordhan responded by stating that he was unaware of this particular information, adding that he only knew that De Ruyter had declined to share his financial details.
“All I know is that he was not prepared to share his financial information,” he said.
Gordhan emphasized that corruption and sabotage were contributing factors to Eskom’s challenges, suggesting that attributing blame solely to the ANC might be part of political campaigning during elections.
“Eskom is not just a feeding trough for the ANC, as the former CEO alleges. There have been instances where there has been a link and one can’t deny that between some institutions like Chancellor house and some of the projects that have been undertaken.”
He disputed the claim made by former Eskom board chairperson Professor Malegapuru Makgoba that he had approved a problematic investigation initiated by De Ruyter, stating that he did not endorse any such intelligence report in any way.
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