The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has threatened to take former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to court if he does not substantiate corruption claims against the party.
This comes after de Ruyter reportedly claimed Eskom was a feeding trough for the ANC.
Mbalula, who addressed the media in Cape Town, has now hit back saying de Ruyter was making the claims in order to mask his own inefficiencies and failures at the power utility.
The ANC Secretary-General wants de Ruyter to prove that the ANC is benefiting from Eskom’s corruption, claiming that de Ruyter has tarnished the party’s image. “We will write to him and give 7 to 10 days to prove the allegations,” says Mbalula.
VIDEO: Fikile Mbalula hits out at Andre de Ruyter over his comments
Push to resign or chose to jump?
Speculation is rife as to whether Eskom’s former CEO was pushed to resign or chose to take the initiative and jump. The ANC welcomes the immediate resignation of De Ruyter, who will not serve the balance of his notice period till the end of March. While some analysts say de Ruyter’s demise was inevitable given the country’s escalating load shedding, others believe that even for the government his immediate resignation is not ideal.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana weighs in on the corruption allegations at Eskom saying, “De Ruyter is being economical with the truth.”
Opposition parties such as the African Transformation Movement (ATM) have called for de Ruyter to be summoned to appear in Parliament to substantiate his corruption claims against the ANC. While others, like the GOOD Party, say de Ruyter must share his information with the police.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed what it calls de Ruyter’s whistle-blowing bravery.
