Johannesburg - The ANC is urging former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to lay criminal charges amid revelations that there were illegal shenanigans at the power utility and that the party was corrupt.
Last week, in an interview with one of the broadcasters, De Ruyter told the journalist that some high-level ministers said people have got to eat, referring to corruption at Eskom.
De Ruyter then announced that he was leaving the power utility with immediate effect, just after sitting in a meeting with Eskom board members.
De Ruyter was initially set to leave the power utility at the end of March but has left. He also revealed that he was planning to leave South Africa for safety reasons.
The ANC welcomed the move by the Eskom board to release De Ruyter. The party announced that it is currently consulting with its legal team concerning statements made by De Ruyter in which he accuses the party of wrongdoing and criminality.
"The ANC is firmly committed through promoting and supporting policy, legislation, and action to deal with any acts of corruption or other forms of criminality and to hold any perpetrators to account. Corruption and criminality are implacable enemies of development and our commitment to build a better life for all," said ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
She said the party's reason for urging De Ruyter to pay criminal charges is so that police can investigate the 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," she said.
Bhengu-Motsiri drew attention to the provisions of 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 stated in that interview that the ANC's undisclosed leaders were aware of the corruption at Eskom and that the utility served as the ANC's "feeding trough".
He also claimed criminal syndicates in Mpumalanga were stealing about R1 billion a month from Eskom and nothing was being done about it.
Some reports suggest that De Ruyter is the 10th Eskom CEO in 13 years. He joined the power utility in 2019, shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa ascended to the throne.
"To date, the ANC is not aware of any action taken by De Ruyter in this respect. The ANC urges De Ruyter to fulfil his constitutional and legal obligations to officially report to the police any act of criminality and/or illegality he is aware of within the next seven days," Bhengu-Motsiri said.
She said the ANC once again advised De Ruyter that by law it is obligatory for "any person who holds a position of authority and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that any other person has committed an offence (of corruption), theft, fraud, extortion, forgery or the uttering of a forged document involving an amount of R100 000 or more, to report such knowledge or suspicion or cause such knowledge or suspicion to be reported to any police official".
Bhengu-Motsiri said if De Ruyter fails to provide more details, they will unleash the legal route against him.
"Failure by Mr De Ruyter to bring such information forward and report it in line with his obligations will result in the ANC laying Section 34 charges against him," Bhengu-Motsiri said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the power utility appointed Calib Cassim as interim CEO with immediate effect.
Cassim has worked at Eskom for over 20 years and has been a chief financial officer since 2018.
The Star