Preparations for a full-scale parliamentary inquiry into Eskom's operations are set to commence.
The Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of public enterprises, Natasha Mazzone, announced on Sunday that the portfolio committee on public enterprises will meet on the 21st of June to proceed with "[discussions] and preparations for the inquiry into Eskom and related matters".
"For far too long good governance practices at Eskom have crumbled under the watch of Minister Lynne Brown, its executives and board members, while the Gupta mafia has pillaged public money at the utility and other public enterprises alike," she said.
The parliamentary inquiry is the latest probe into the parastatal, which is facing a series of investigations into its operations.
President Jacob Zuma announced that he was launching the probe at the end of May.
"The president has set up an interministerial committee (IMC) comprising of the ministers of public enterprises, energy, finance and justice and correctional services. The IMC is asked to gather the facts in order to guide Cabinet on how to deal with such matters in future," a cabinet statement reportedly said at the time.
The inquiry will look into even investigations that have been conducted into Eskom in recent years.
The DA drew up a list of issues that they would like covered at the inquiry and these include:
- Brian Molefe's reappointment saga and his "golden handshake";
- Minister Brown seemingly misleading Parliament, in her reply to a DA parliamentary question, when she failed to disclose the contracts of engagement between the Gupta-linked, Trillian and Eskom;
- Matshela Koko's nepotism scandal;
- Allegations by former Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi that Molefe and board chairperson Ben Ngubane tried to strong-arm him to withdraw Glencore's Optimum mining licences in order to guarantee that the Guptas takeover Glencore's coal mines; and
- Allegations of Duduzane Zuma producing a fake 'intelligence' report which the President used to fire four Eskom executives in 2015.
Last month, energy expert Chris Yelland suggested that the entire Eskom should resign in the interests of good governance after the Molefe saga.
This whole saga has caused significant reputational damage to Eskom and South Africa," Yelland said.