JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – AUGUST 11: Eskom acting chief financial officer Anoj Singh delivers the parastatal’s annual report on August 11, 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Eskom’s acting chief executive, Brian Molefe, announced that the power utility managed to raise R49.5 billion of external funding but experienced a decline in sales to industrial markets such […]
DA to lay criminal charges against Eskom CFO over ‘pivotal role’ in Gupta capture
Another one bites the dust for Eskom?
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – AUGUST 11: Eskom acting chief financial officer Anoj Singh delivers the parastatal’s annual report on August 11, 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Eskom’s acting chief executive, Brian Molefe, announced that the power utility managed to raise R49.5 billion of external funding but experienced a decline in sales to industrial markets such […]
Eskom can’t seem to escape a scandal at the moment, from Molefe to Brown to Ngubane, now the CFO is falling into the spotlight. The Democratic Alliance (DA) announced on Thursday that they will lay criminal charges against Anoj Singh.
The party says they have reason to believe that he may have played a pivotal role “in the Guptas’ capture of Eskom.”
DA MP and Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Natasha Mazzone explains the charges.
“The DA will lay charges against Singh for possible breaches of Section 50 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act (PMFA), which states that an accounting officer at a public entity must “ensure reasonable protection of the assets and records of the public entity”and “act with fidelity, honesty, integrity and in the best interests of the public entity in managing the financial affairs of the public entity”.
Furthermore, Section 50 (2) of the PMFA clearly states that an accounting officer at a state owned enterprise may not use their “position or privileges […] for personal gain or to improperly benefit another person”.
Mazzone says Sing has been linked to numerous corruption scandals at Eskom. She wants the following investigated.
- The Trillian contracts of R495 million, as a subcontractor of McKinsey;
- The arbitration settlement of R577 million, reduced from R2.1 billion, for Tegeta;
- Giving Tegeta a R1.6 billion guarantee to purchase Optimum even if it wasn’t used; and
- The upfront coal contract payment to Tegeta.
“Based on the absurd explanation Singh provided yesterday, as to why Eskom gave Gupta-linked Tegeta a 72% discount to acquire Optimum, it appears he may be one of a number of seemingly compromised individuals at Eskom who have sought to loot our public coffers.”
Charges of false statements, reckless conduct and non-compliance will also be laid against Singh. These charges relate to a section of the companies act that finds a person guilty of an offence if they:
“with fraudulent intention, knowingly provided false or misleading information” and if they were party to “an act or omission by a business calculated to defraud [the company] or with another fraudulent purpose”.
The DA emphasises that should the allegations prove true, they will ensure Singh has his day in court.
