Former Eskom chairperson, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, told Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) that the president’s national security adviser, Sydney Mufamadi, and public enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, had been told of former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter’s private intelligence operation.
Makgoba told Scopa on Wednesday that De Ruyter informed him about the intelligence operation in July 2022.
IOL quotes Makgoba as saying: ‘If the SAPS and the Hawks had done their work effectively and efficiently, we would not be meeting here as a committee. The issue that De Ruyter undertook was an operational matter because Eskom, at the time, was besieged with sabotage and corruption, and we were not getting any mileage from law enforcement agencies.’
He added that Ramaphosa cited the work of the intelligence operation in his State of the Nation Address in February 2023. Ramaphosa said it led to the arrest of 43 people.
Makgoba also said that, at some point, a frustrated De Ruyter had raised this issue with a senior official in the National Prosecuting Authority.
‘As a board, we were concerned that our crown jewel was destroyed when we have a security cluster that seems to be asleep. These concerns were raised by the board. We left this matter to De Ruyter as part of management because we regarded them as operational (for him) to deal with’, said Makgoba on the appointment of Fivaz.
‘I know on July 5, De Ruyter did inform Mufamadi and Pravin Gordhan. On July 26, De Ruyter took Minister (Bheki) Cele, Gordhan, and (Gwede) Mantashe to Tutuka to see what corruption and sabotage in a single power station means,’ said Makgoba.
Current board chairperson Mpho Makwana denied any knowledge of the intelligence operation by De Ruyter.
News24 reports that Gordhan, who is in China on business related to Transnet and Eskom, is expected to appear before the committee next week.
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