Cape Town – The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has given retired police officer Brigadier Jap Burger seven working days to respond to its latest request to testify before Parliament regarding allegations of maladministration and corruption made by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter.
Burger has twice declined to appear before Parliament, citing concerns about a breach of confidential national security matters.
“SCOPA has issued invitations to Brigadier Burger on two previous occasions but he has ignored the committee on both those occasions. He instead wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, stating which committees he prefers to appear before. In the event that Brigadier Burger does not respond to the committee within the stipulated time, the committee will then proceed with the subpoena process,” a statement said.
However, a parliamentary legal opinion states that these concerns do not hold water.
Parliamentary legal advisor, Advocate Frank Jenkins, indicated that Scopa should focus exclusively on inquiries pertaining to financial wrongdoing at Eskom.
“From our understanding of the allegations, there’s no reason to believe that brigadier Burger would not be able to share information even in a manner that does not raise national security concerns,” EWN quoted Jenkins as saying.
If he continues to decline, he may be summoned to appear before Parliament involuntarily, then report said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
