Africa-Press – South-Africa. The police have sent two detectives to Mpumalanga to “deal with corruption within the energy sector”.
This according to police top brass, who delivered a presentation on their budget of just over R102 billion for the 2023/24 financial year and annual performance plan to the National Council of Provinces’ Select Committee on Security and Justice.
While this committee was sitting, former Eskom CEO AndreĢ de Ruyter appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, where he was quizzed about explosive allegations of corruption at Eskom made in a television interview earlier this year.
MPs on this committee were left none the wiser by an evasive De Ruyter.
His allegations included that two senior politicians are involved and that there are four cartels in Mpumalanga.
News24 revealed on Wednesday morning that the intelligence report De Ruyter relied on was compiled by an apartheid-era spy and contained no facts.
According to the police’s presentation to the select committee, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI, also known as the Hawks) collaborates with the police’s detective services “with regard to investigations relating to Eskom”.
“[The] DPCI members participate in the established task teams and cases previously reported to the DPCI, continue to receive the necessary attention,” read the presentation.
“Two members attached to the Detective Service Anti-Corruption Unit have been deployed in Mpumalanga, to deal with corruption within the energy sector.”
The police currently have “Organised Crime Investigation specialised task teams” in provinces that investigate cases relating to critical infrastructure, ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
“The members are also investigating other serious crimes related to drugs and drug trafficking, ATM bombings, gang-related crimes, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and any other high-profile cases, as directed by principals,” the presentation read.
While De Ruyter’s claims now seem questionable, struggling energy supplier Eskom has been plagued by wide-ranging corruption over a number of years, through the state capture era and beyond.
Much of this corruption involves the Kusile power plant in Mpumalanga.
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