SAPS, Hawks: No politician being probed over Eskom graft
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has told Scopa that no politician is being investigated for alleged involvement in corruption at Eskom.
Masemola was answering questions during an appearance by the South African Police Service, the Hawks, and Special Investigations Unit (SIU) before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, following allegations of widespread corruption and political interference by the utility’s former CEO.
Last month, Andre de Ruyter appeared before the committee but refused to name the politician he alleged was involved in criminal activities at the power utility, citing fear of further legal action against him.
The ANC has since approached the courts to lay a defamation claim against De Ruyter over these claims, which he made during a tell-all television interview on eNCA.
Both Masemola and his counterpart in the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (better known as the Hawks) said no politician had been reported to them for investigation in the matter.
“Did he report to me about a senior politician? No. There’s no senior politician that he reported to me about. The Hawks also did not report to me any knowledge that they are investigating any senior politician,” Masemola said.
‘ABOUT R2 BILLION SPENT ON ESKOM SECURITY MATTERS’ - CELE
At the same time, Police Minister Bheki Cele told the committee that there is political will to tackle the two major problems plaguing Eskom.
The minister said in January he leapt into action, calling a two-day meeting between himself and Eskom after it had been reported that criminality had become the leading factor that crippled the utility.
“The meeting from the side of Eskom is led by Advocate Pillay, who is the head of security at Eskom as a whole. The understanding at the end of the meeting was that we had two major problems, they remain technical and criminal.
“The plan of security was laid bare, it was the first time that I learned that Eskom had spent about R2 billion on internal security matters, with about 6 000 private security individuals.”
Scopa will on Wednesday continue its interrogation into the allegations, this time summoning the board of Eskom to answer.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, whom De Ruyter has accused of making his time at the utility “very difficult” is expected to appear before the committee next Wednesday.
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