De RuyterBloomberg News reports that according to the former head of Eskom, he probably underestimated when he put the amount of money that was being stolen from the state-owned company at more than R1 billion a month.

Ex-CEO André de Ruyter also said internal resistance to measures he implemented to try and curb corruption at Eskom was hampering the effort. His comments were contained in a written submission to MPs that he is scheduled to deliver virtually on Wednesday. De Ruyter stepped down as CEO on 22 February – more than a month before his scheduled 31 March departure date – after censuring the government over corruption at Eskom and accusing senior members of the ANC of stealing from the utility. The graft took various forms at Eskom, including the “ghost delivery” of spare parts for equipment that was recorded throughout receiving processes, but not physically present, De Ruyter explained.   Organised groups that mainly focused on crimes related to coal supply were associated with specific power stations and had their own identities, he indicated, citing the findings of an investigation. The submission to parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts repeats claims that De Ruyter first made in a television interview in February. Lawmakers plan to interview him about corruption, theft, maladministration, sabotage, lack of consequence management, cartels and other financial irregularities at Eskom.


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