By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) used its majority in parliament on Thursday evening to vote against establishing an ad-hoc committe to probe allegations of rampant corruption and criminal cartels operating at Eskom.
Following an evening of consultations on Thursday, the National Assembly (NA) determined that the establishment of an ad hoc committee in terms of Rule 253 to look into allegations was not going to come to fruition.
Parliament said that 201 members of the NA voted against the formation of the Committee, while 115 voted for the motion.
The members who voted against the resolution argued that the current parliamentary oversight mechanisms and the appointment of the minister of electricity were adequate to deal with issues at the embattled power utility.
Despite a multitude of evidence to the contrary – including numerous ongoing cases – the minister of electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says that the problems at Eskom have nothing to do with corruption but are rather technical issues. It is unlikely, then, that corruption probes will proceed at his behest.
For the majority in parliament, there were ‘no compelling reasons’ presented to form the ad hoc committee.
The Draft Resolution titled; “Establishment of an ad hoc committee in terms of Rule 253 to inquire into the full extent of the alleged widespread corruption and unabated operations of criminal networks and cartels at Eskom” was brought before the House by the leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen said that Eskom could only be fixed once the root cause of its problems is addressed, and reports suggest that it is the ANC that is running Eskom dry.
Calls for an ad hoc committee came after an explosive interview ENCA conducted with the former Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter, where he outlined, without giving specific names, corruption and criminal networks entrenched in the embattled power utility.
De Ruyter added that when he took his suspicions up with an ANC cabinet minister, nothing was done.
When the motion to establish the ad-hoc committee was debated last week, Steenhuisen said former deputy president David Mabuza was the corrupt minister benefitting from myriad Eskom contracts that De Ruyter had spoken about. “We all know who this person being referred to is. It’s DD Mabuza and we all know how connected he is within the ANC,” said Steenhuisen.
Mabuza has denied the allegations, that Steenhuisen was a “political charlatan desperate for attention”.
As a result, Steenhuisen called for further investigation into De Ruyter’s allegations. Other opposition parties have further criticised the ANC and its ties with Eskom.
It was expected that the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), would use its majority seating to shut down the push, and this was subsequently the case.
The ANC is now involved in filing for defamation against De Ruyter for his allegations, while he is nowhere to be found.