The ANC has urged former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to lay criminal charges against those politicians he has accused of corruption at the power utility.
This as Eskom on Friday appointed its chief financial officer Calib Cassim as their interim CEO following the ousting of De Ruyter earlier in the week.
De Ruyter was released following a televised interview, wherein he claimed that some high-level ministers told him that people ‘have got to eat’, referring to corruption at Eskom.
He also revealed that he was planning to leave South Africa for safety reasons.
The ANC welcomed De Ruyter’s removal and announced that it was consulting with its legal team about his claims that the ANC was skelm.
He alleged that unnamed ANC leaders were aware of the corruption at Eskom and that the utility served as the ANC’s “feeding trough”.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told The Star that the party’s reason for urging De Ruyter to lay criminal charges is so that police can investigate his allegations, which they take seriously.
“Accordingly, we reiterate our call to De Ruyter to lay criminal charges, with verifiable details about his serious allegations, to allow law enforcement agencies to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute those who have a case to answer, including any ANC members or public representatives who have violated both the laws of the country as well as the prescripts of the ANC constitution and their oath of membership,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.
She said legally, De Ruyter as obligated to report corruption, as provided in Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act 12 of 2004), which makes it illegal for any person in a position of authority not to report an act or information of corruption or criminality.
De Ruyter also claimed criminal syndicates in Mpumalanga were stealing about R1 billion a month from Eskom and niks was being done about it.