Eskom manager who reported corruption now wears bulletproof vest and has bodyguards

A manager in one of Eskom’s coal-fired stations reportedly wears a bulletproof vest and has two bodyguards after exposing corruption at the said plant.

This was reportedly revealed by Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter as he highlighted one of the biggest challenges the power utility is facing in combating internal crime syndicates which are contributing to the country’s power crisis.

ESKOM MANAGER’S LIFE UNDER THREAT 

According to TimesLIVE, De Ruyter slammed the security measures in place at the plant which is said to be one of many affected by criminality. 

The CEO did not name the manager but he lauded him for making strides against corruption which is also crippling the power utility. 

“Coal corruption is endemic in our supply chains. It is a battle, it is really tricky… There is an ecosystem in which we operate. A fish cannot swim in a toxic stream unless we clean up the stream we cannot hope to fix Eskom,” he said.

This comes as a number of whistleblower’s lives have been under threat after exposing corruption and some have been assassinated.

On Tuesday, 22 November, a 28-year-old truck driver was arrested for allegedly diverting an Eskom coal shipment destined for Camden Power Station to an illegal coal yard in Middelburg. The original shipment was swapped with rubble.

The suspect was driving a truck sub-contracted to collect coal from Msimbithi Coal Mine in Wonderfontein near Belfast for delivery to Camden Power Station in Ermelo.

“It is alleged that the truck driver deviated from that route with the original coal worth approximately R30 000 and delivered it to an illegal coal yard on Bethal road in Vaalbank near Middleburg,” Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said.

At the illegal coal yard, the shipment was replaced with rubble coal mixed with stones and the suspect set off for the Power Station.

In another incident, two truck drivers contracted to Eskom were arrested at Kendal Power Station in Mpumalanga on Wednesday night, 9 November, for allegedly being in possession of stolen coal.

Eskom said the trucks belong to an ash transporting company that is contracted to the power utility. The vehicles were leaving the power station’s coal gate when they were stopped by security.

The security guards wanted to conduct an inspection and both truck drivers vehemently resisted their attempts and insisted the vehicles were empty.

Eskom said with the persistence of a diligent security team the trucks were searched, and the stolen coal was found in the trailers. 

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