Gordhan won’t name politicians tied to Eskom graft claims

Cape Town – Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has denied allegations by former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter that he had encouraged him to initiate a private intelligence gathering operation.

Gordhan said that the initiative was solely De Ruyter’s and he was not informed about it until months later.

He said that De Ruyter briefly mentioned the project but provided no details.

The minister said this while briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday on De Ruyter’s allegations of corruption at Eskom

He emphasised that he would not publicly accuse individuals of corruption without evidence. He clarified that his appearance at Scopa was not about attacking the messenger but holding De Ruyter accountable for his role at Eskom.

“This is not a mission to shoot the messenger. De Ruyter was in charge of an institution.

“This is not about shooting the messenger. This is not about this poor guy who is being attacked. If you are in charge, the buck stops with you,” IOL quoted Gordhan as saying.

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According to EWN, he said: “I’m not going to implicate or smear the reputations of others without credible evidence and verifiable evidence being provided.”

Gordhan said that De Ruyter informed him about the investigation six months after it had already begun, the report said.

De Ruyter first made bombshell allegations about corruption at the power utility during an interview with eNCA in February this year, and was released from his position as a result.

In the interview, De Ruyter alleged that high-ranking government officials were linked to the corruption and theft that has emptied the utility’s coffers.

However, when he appeared in front of Scopa, he refused to name the minister linked to the corruption claims, telling parliamentarians that doing so would jeopardise ongoing investigations.

 Gordhan disclosed that De Ruyter mentioned the project in passing, stating that he was undertaking it due to the lack of involvement from law enforcement agencies and that it was funded privately by big businesses for R50 million.