By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has not ruled out legal action against former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, holding him to account for commissioning an “unauthorised” investigation into corruption at the power utility.
De Ruyter did not have authority to investigate the affairs of Eskom and it does appear he had a distrust of law enforcement agencies.
“As the GCEO, it was incumbent on him to raise the distrust appropriately but he commissioned a parallel investigation.”
“Consideration should be given to holding the former GCEO to account. It becomes a legal question as he is no longer employed by Eskom, and in this regard, we will consider the options available, together with the board, and advise accordingly,” SIU head Andy Mothibi said to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
Mothibi said whatever good intentions there were, governance and policies applicable to the actions of de Ruyter to gather intelligence on Eskom would be assessed and appropriate action would be taken based on legal advice gathered.
The SIU and the Hawks shared their findings of the intelligence report commissioned by De Ruyter during the Scopa meeting on Tuesday.
Mothibi said de Ruyter had no authorisation from Eskom to conduct a probe of this nature. He said the contract was entered into between Business Leadership South Africa and George Fivaz Forensic and Risk.
Mothibi said the latter should have known it could not investigate a state institution without proper authority.
“It was during a committee meeting where the former chair of Eskom, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba said the GCEO [requested] to gather intelligence and they in a way allowed him to proceed as he sought to.
“So, it is clear that the intent is there to gather intelligence on Eskom. In fact the GCEO in his book says when he left, the gathering of intelligence was not completed.
“He says that is the legacy he wanted to leave behind in gathering intelligence so it could assist with the investigation,” Mothibi said.
Eskom board chair Mpho Makwana previously told Scopa that the board’s governance teams were reviewing all the evidence and would ensure that the board “takes all necessary action”.