Today, the DA has written to the Eskom CEO to formally ask him to ensure that requested documentation is provided timeously to Parliament by the entity, as failure to do so undermines section 195(g) of the Constitution as well as violating both sections 7(a) and (b) of the Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, Act 4 of 2004. The latter is a criminal offence under section 27(1) of the specified Act.
On 31 August 2021, Eskom was scheduled to brief the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on its expansion plans, its latest annual report, and all investigations currently ongoing. This briefing was a continuation of a previous meeting.
However, members of the Standing Committee only received the report, comprised of 127 pages of documentation, the day before the scheduled meeting on 30 August 2021, even though the submission deadline was on the 26th of August 2021.
Chairperson of Eskom’s Board, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, refused to take accountability for the umpteenth time that Eskom has failed to timeously submit documentation to SCOPA on the basis that he feels it is unfair that he is being blamed.
We urge the CEO, Andre de Ruyter to urgently convene with the Chairperson of the Board in order to ensure that the requisite coordination takes place that will preclude Eskom from undermining the Constitution as well as illegally impeding the Standing Committee and its members from exercising their oversight duties over the executive, however unintentional it might be. This is not the first time Eskom has undermined the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and it simply cannot be allowed to continue.