Eskom COO cleared of corruption allegations

An investigation has cleared Eskom’s COO Jan Oberholzer of allegations of corruption, dishonesty, abuse of power, the utility said on Wednesday.

Last month, the Eskom board appointed an independent senior counsel, Nazeer Cassim, to conduct an investigation into the allegations leveled against Oberholzer by an Eskom employee.

The Sunday Independent reported that Oberholzer owned shares in Stefanutti Stocks, which is accused of defrauding Eskom of R139bn in inflated contracts, and that he had held several meetings with the company’s directors shortly after he was appointed as Eskom COO in 2018.

The Eskom board at the time said it had also received correspondence from Corruption Watch, an anti-corruption civil society organisation, and from the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) earlier in March, which alleged corruption and victimisation by the COO.

Cassim commenced his investigation on March 20 and his report was submitted to the board on April 4, and found “no basis to the allegations of dishonesty, corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of power leveled against the COO”, Eskom said in a statement.

The investigation brief required Cassim to specifically investigate whether there was any undisclosed conflict of interest by the COO pertaining to Stefanutti and whether Oberholzer’s dealings with any functionaries of the construction company breached his fiduciary duties and any Eskom policies.

The investigation also probed whether the COO was involved in corruption or derived personal benefit from a contract that was placed with engineering firm Black & Veatch in 2007.

Furthermore, Cassim examined the circumstances that led to the complainant being transferred from his position as GM of mega-projects to theHR department

Ultimately, Cassim found that proper disclosure had been made of Oberholzer’s shareholding in Stefanutti and is not a matter for which he should face a disciplinary hearing.

Regarding the Black & Veatch contract, Cassim could find no fault or other improper conduct on the part of Oberholzer in so far as the transaction was concerned

With reference to the transfer of the alleged whistle-blower, the investigation found that the relationship between Oberholzer and the employee who made allegations of victimisation had been characterised by tension, but Cassim did not find that there was victimisation or that any further legal processes should follow.

steynl@businesslive.co.za