EDITORIAL: Accountability as it should be

The hearings that parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) has held on the revelations by former Eskom group CEO André de Ruyter have been a salutary example of accountability.

In the absence of a dedicated ad hoc committee to probe De Ruyter’s allegations of fraud, corruption and sabotage at Eskom — the ANC shot down a DA proposal in this regard — Scopa assumed the task, interviewing De Ruyter, the Eskom board, law enforcement agencies, presidential national security adviser Sydney Mufamadi and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan.

A key question not answered by anyone was the identity of the high ranking politician that De Ruyter said was implicated in Eskom corruption. The board was grilled about what they knew of the allegations and about the private sector funded investigation conducted by George Fivaz Forensic & Risk which was initiated by De Ruyter.

Crucially it emerged last week that the board has still not got hold of the report on the investigation months after it became aware of its existence. Rather than considering whether action should be taken against De Ruyter for the disclosure of confidential board information in his book Truth to Power, the key focus of the board should be tackling the crime and corruption that is crippling the power utility that the book exposed.