Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa finally broke his silence on Tuesday on allegations by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter that senior politicians were involved in corruption at the power utility.
Speaking on Tuesday during a media briefing at the Union Buildings where he hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for a state visit, Ramaphosa said that the government was “most concerned” about De Ruyter’s remarks.
Ramaphosa urged De Ruyter to approach independent institutions so that his claims could be investigated, media reports said.
“With the info he purports to have, there are institutions that are independent where there will be no form of interference, where there will not be any form of diversion, blockage or any form of sabotage.
“Whatever malfeasance that he has knowledge of, those are the types of institutions that he should have trusted. I have a great deal of faith and trust in those institutions, and once the complaints are lodged, they have the full capability to investigate,” IOL quoted Ramaphosa as saying.
[PHOTOS]: His Excellency President Matamela @CyrilRamaphosa and HE President Yoweri @KagutaMuseveni address a joint press briefing during the Ugandan State Visit held at the Union Buildings in Tshwane #UgandaInSA ???? #BetterAfricaBetterWorld ? pic.twitter.com/4LVvEjNWoF
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) February 28, 2023
He questioned why De Ruyter, “being a person at a level of general CEO”, did not report the matter to law enforcement institutions who “are armed with resources to investigate his claims”, News24 reported.
In a recent interview on etv’s My Guest Tonight with Annika Larsen, De Ruyter revealed the depths of corruption at the power utility. He claimed that those involved in corruption at the company would hide their supercars in order to pass lifestyle audits.
De Ruyter, who took over as CEO in 2020, parted ways with Eskom prematurely last week despite being due to leave the company at the end of March.
The shock announcement was made by Eskom shortly after the interview with Larson, during which De Ruyter described the state-owned utility as “a feeding trough for the ANC”.
“Eskom is a feeding trough for the ANC!
The ANC wanted to eat the R8.5billion we got from, COP27.
There is a minister who knows this. There is another minister who is eating.”
— André de Ruyter spits fire & propaganda on his way out— pic.twitter.com/vp4JFfA1uF
— Constitution First ?? (@Constitution_94) February 22, 2023
De Ruyter estimated that around R1 billion was stolen from Eskom every month.
He said that his efforts to rid Eskom of corruption were rewarded with an attempt on his life. He was allegedly poisoned with cyanide in December 2022.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
