Lynne Brown questions Eskom's truthfulness

Johannesburg – Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has asked the new interim Eskom board to conduct short-term investigations and report back to her with recommendations.

Brown announced her request at an energy conference in Sandton on Tuesday, where she revealed her scepticism of Eskom’s truthfulness. 

This comes a day before Eskom is set to announce its integrated annual results. “Let's allow Eskom to make their announcement tomorrow,” Brown’s spokesperson Colin Cruywagen told the media.

• READ: Mystery of Eskom's money

“Let me just say that as the shareholder’s representative, reliant on the company’s board and management for accurate information, I have recently had reason to question the veracity of some of the answers I have been given,” Brown said.

“I have therefore instituted various measures including changing the board, and establishing a deep dive investigation (to be conducted by the Special Investigations Unit) into all allegations of impropriety that have surfaced at Eskom over the past ten years.

“I have also asked the new interim board of Eskom to conduct certain short-term investigations of their own, and report to me with recommendations.

“There will be more announcements in this regard in due course. About Eskom, and other state-owned companies in my department’s portfolio,” she said.

Eskom has been embroiled in a series of serious allegations of maladministration and corruption, she explained.

“None of the allegations have been proven in a court of law, but they have fundamentally eroded the company’s integrity – and that of the sovereign – and will continue to do so until they are engaged by the appropriate law-enforcement agencies and addressed, one way or the other.

“Certain matters are now in court, so I am a little constrained in what I can say.”

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