Durban - South African state-owned power and utility enterprise Eskom said on Friday that it has set up a team of legal experts to deal with the findings presented in the fourth part of the state capture report.
This, after the latest chapter of the report was received by the office of the President on Friday and entails the attempt to capture Eskom, JSE-listed EOH holdings and the National Treasury.
The report was compiled by the Zondo Commission. The commission’s inquiry commenced in August 2018. The commission is instructed to inquire, investigate and make recommendations into any and all allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud in the public sector.
It said the team, comprising internal and external lawyers, will review, understand and make sure appropriate actions are taken to address any recommendations in the report.
Eskom said it will be analysing the report to ensure those implicated in it are still employed at the company and will be taking action against them in line with its policies.
In light of the monies lost through irregular payments to contractors, Eskom said that it, together with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has recovered some funds.
It said R1.1 billion was recovered from American consulting firm McKinsey & Company and R1.57 billion from Eskom’s Kusile plant contractor, ABB, the Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation also operating in SA.
“Eskom is studying the report to identify whether there are implicated individuals still in its employ and will take appropriate action as required in line with its policies. This is in addition to the numerous criminal cases registered with the South African Police Service over the years and disciplinary action taken against its employees implicated in the irregularities.
“Eskom has furthermore initiated civil actions to recover some of the monies lost to State Capture, including R3.8 bn in damages suffered by Eskom due to unlawful actions by those implicated in state capture,” it said.
Chairman of the board, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, said the report will go a long way in ensuring justice.
“We view the release of the commission’s report as an important step to ensure that more of those who undermined Eskom are brought to book, and we look forward to working with the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that the miscreants speedily face criminal charges,” Makgoba said.
Chief Justice of South Africa Raymond Zondo is expected to deliver the final instalment of the report by June this year.
IOL