The former head of South Africa's national energy firm, Eskom, has refused to name the minister and politician who allegedly tolerated its corruption. Andre de Ruyter, who was answering lawmakers' questions by video link due to death threats against him, cited security and legal risks.
A couple of months after de Ruyter alleged someone tried to poison him by putting cyanide in his coffee at his office, he engaged in an interview with a local news channel. His appearance Wednesday before parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts stems from what he revealed then about the level of corruption in Eskom.
De Ruyter told the committee in an affidavit this week that in his estimation, the company loses about $54 million per month to corruption. He called that number a "conservative estimate" based on losses that came to his attention.
Despite being offered parliamentary privilege Wednesday, de Ruyter wasn't willing to name the politician he alleges is involved in the graft nor the government minister he claims tolerates it.
However, he didn't object or correct this statement from Alf Lees, a member of parliament representing the main opposition Democratic Alliance: "It has become patently evident to me, certainly, that the minister who made the comment about letting other people feed was indeed Minister Gordhan."
Pravin Gordhan is the minister of public enterprises under which Eskom falls. Gordhan has previously admitted to having a conversation with de Ruyter about criminality at the power company but has denied saying corruption should be tolerated.
When pressed Wednesday, de Ruyter said Gordhan knew the name of the politician involved.
"I think that is a question that will be able to be answered by Minister Gordhan. He should be able to answer that question," de Ruyter said. "To my recollection I did mention it to him, and he would be best placed to respond to that."
De Ruyter complained of Gordhan being extremely involved in Eskom's operations and of by-passing him, his chief operating officer, and head of generation.
"There were examples of intervention in day-to-day operations," de Ruyter said. "Whether that was to gain information or to verify information, I don't know. But it, it made life as the responsible accounting officer quite difficult. Many cooks in the kitchen does not always result in a good meal."
De Ruyter denied taking or carrying out any illegal instructions.
"The way that the organized crime works is that there is a network of people, some of them regrettably Eskom employees, who collude with criminals to ensure that through fraudulent activity they can extract money from Eskom," he said.
The parliamentary committee's chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, seemed unimpressed with de Ruyter's testimony, saying they were still at "square one" as he revealed nothing more than in his television interview. Hlengwa said they would be calling him again.
De Ruyter's appearance came on the eve of Freedom Day, when South Africa marks 29 years since the first democratic election after decades of apartheid rule, which oppressed people of color.
Political analyst Amanda Gouws, a professor at Stellenbosch University, said the level of corruption in South Africa is sad.
"I mean there's nothing to celebrate. We are doing really, really badly," Gouws said. "What we are seeing is a process of deconsolidation of democracy, of back sliding of democracy with a government that's really not governing. So for all the euphoria of 1994, there is nothing left. What we have is collective depression because we're literally in the dark with an ANC government that's not capable of governing."
South Africa's economy has been dealt a massive blow in recent months by daily rolling blackouts, which critics blame on mismanagement of Eskom.
