Top Eskom executive linked to sabotage at power stations

Police are looking to arrest an Eskom executive with top-secret security clearance who they believe may be central to engineering and staging breakdowns at targeted power stations. 

City Press reported the executive, who has top-secret security clearance, is accused of appointing specific engineers to help ensure there are breakdowns at certain power stations. The engineers and the executive then profit from the money needed to fix the breakdowns. 

The newspaper had an interview with police minister Bheki Cele, who said leaked WhatsApp messages were part of the investigation. 

“My guys heard the executive talking to me and said this was someone of high interest because an individual in such a high-ranking position must know more than that person was telling us,” said Cele. 

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said in November that sabotage of Eskom equipment and coal syndicates were among the criminal activities contributing to one stage of load-shedding. 

He said some stations experienced mysterious failures and oil leakages. 

De Ruyter said at the Camden power station, when they apprehended a suspect, they found the motive for the sabotage. The breaking down of equipment was to secure more work from Eskom.  

“This is a pattern. We found it at other power stations as well. At Tutuka, for example, people deliberately break equipment because that results in a maintenance call-out which puts money into the pockets of the maintenance contractors,” he said. 

Also in November, Sunday Times reported a forensic report had lifted the lid on wholesale sabotage of infrastructure by unscrupulous contractors and employees.

TimesLIVE