Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance on Sunday called on the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to present a report of its preliminary findings on "industrial scale" looting at Eskom power plants by contractors to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture for inclusion as evidence into state capture.
"New evidence" had emerged from media reports that 11 contractors were currently under SIU investigation for allegedly stealing R139 billion during the construction of Eskom power plants at Kusile, Medupi, and Ingula, DA spokeswoman Natasha Mazzone said.
The Zondo Commission should call on all the implicated contractors to come and give evidence before the commission on the role that each played in this staggering theft of public resources, she said.
"It is insincere for the failing ANC government to claim ignorance while taxpayers' money was being stolen by unscrupulous business people whom they had contracted to build the power plants. The ANC knew about Eskom corruption and they must take responsibility for failing to act on it."
Now, more than ever, it had become clear that the ANC had "broken Eskom, left it bankrupt, and is now asking South Africans to pick up the tab through power tariff increases". Eskom was currently waiting to hear the outcome of its application for a 15 percent power tariff hike over 15 years.
Government’s plans to unbundle Eskom would not turn around the ailing parastatal as long as the culture of corruption and poor corporate governance was not addressed as a matter of urgency, Mazzone said.