Cape Town – Build One SA (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane says former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter’s appearance before the Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday was a “disappointing waste of time and taxpayer money”.
De Ruyter was asked about the allegations he made during a television interview where he alleged that “Eskom is a feeding trough for the ANC” to which he responded saying it was.
However, when he appeared before Scopa this week and was asked by ANC MP Bheki Hadebe to name the high-ranking official who was involved in corruption at Eskom, he said he was not at liberty to do so for legal reasons.
Maimane slammed De Ruyter for his refusal to identify the “senior politician”, reported TimeLIVE.
“It is unacceptable to refuse to name the ministers involved in organised crime at Eskom and the minister who said we must ‘allow people to eat’.
“We know that there are ministers who know of corrupt activity at Eskom and there are ministers who are participating in criminal activity at Eskom. Meanwhile, the whole country is sitting in hours of darkness every day. This is why I opened a case on the De Ruyter matter,” the report quoted Maimane as saying.
ALSO READ | ANC slams De Ruyter’s ‘underhanded tactics’
“…By hiding the names of those stealing money, who are very possibly still in government and still stealing, he is aiding and abetting those criminals. This is a great disappointment,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ANC has also slammed Ruyter’s testimony and accused him of underhanded tactics, saying that he aimed at tarnishing the party’s image ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“At the time when South Africans are starting to focus their attention on the upcoming national general elections, it now becomes even more questionable as to what could have motivated de Ruyter’s utterances against the ANC.
“It is curious why a chief executive officer of a state-owned enterprise would go out of their way to affirm reports which are not grounded in an iota of evidence,” said the ANC.
ANC STATEMENT ON ANDRE DE RUYTER’S UNFORUNATE DECAMPAIGNING TACTICS. pic.twitter.com/cvlqceFy7E
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Cde Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) April 26, 2023
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/ @chiefmringo
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
