Former Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter.
Neither Eskom nor its former CEO Andre de Ruyter have responded to a letter of demand from the ANC sent in response to his allegations that ruling party politicians benefit from rampant corruption at the utility.
They have until the close of business on Wednesday to do so, Krish Naidoo, the attorney briefed in the matter, said on Monday.
The letter, dated 28 February, accuses De Ruyter of defamation for saying in an interview with eNCA late last month that evidence would suggest the embattled power utility is a “feeding trough” for the ANC.
The interview drew fire from both Eskom and the ANC. The company released De Ruyter from the remainder of his three-month notice period in short order. He resigned in December, and recounted in the interview that he was poisoned with cyanide the following day.
The ANC said in its letter that De Ruyter’s remarks were “intended to mean, and can be understood by any reasonable person to mean, that the ANC has stolen money from Eskom or that it has received money from Eskom through corrupt and unethical means”.
It noted that corruption and theft were serious, prisonable offences and added that if the party were tried and convicted of such, its national executive committee and elected representatives would risk jail sentences.
“It is our client’s contention that the utterances of Mr De Ruyter are false, defamatory, infringe on our client’s constitutional right to its good name and reputation and causes its reputation to be impaired.”
Moreover, it said, the ANC was of the view that the statement was made with the intention to do just that. Alternatively, it was made recklessly, with no regard for the consequences.
The ANC asked that De Ruyter and Eskom issue a retraction and an apology.
“Should the statements not be retracted our client has instructed us to demand that Mr De Ruyter should produce the ‘evidence’ he was referred to, and which presumably is within his personal knowledge, within seven days to show that the utterance is true, in which event our client undertakes to act against its members that participated in, or overlooked, such corrupt acts.”
The ANC asked De Ruyter to give reasons why he should not be reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) for breach of section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA) for withholding evidence of corruption.
This section of the law obliges heads of companies to report probable corruption involving more than R100 000 to a police officer.
In the interview, De Ruyter suggested that fought an uphill battle to combat corruption that was costing Eskom an estimated R1 billion a month, but noted that inroads had been made and culprits arrested. He also spoke about coal corruption “mafias” active in Mpumalanga and said a senior ANC politician had a hand in the graft.
De Ruyter, in perhaps his most explosive claim, said he mentioned this to a cabinet minister who turned a colleague and remarked that it was perhaps inevitable that it would become known.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has conceded in an interview that he was the minister to whom De Ruyter spoke. Gordhan said he “cannot remember” if he then made the ascribed remark to a colleague.
The ANC said it was proceeding on the assumption that De Ruyter was speaking on behalf of Eskom, and that the company should indicate otherwise if this was not the case.