Former Eskom chief executive André De Ruyter will appear before Parliament next week - but while the committee will meet in person, De Ruyter will participate virtually.

André de Ruyter will appear before Parliament on 26 April over claims of corruption at state power utility Eskom. During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, its chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, confirmed the upcoming meeting.

The latest development follows a written request by ANC MP Bheki Hadebe to Hlengwa to have De Ruyter appear before the committee to provide evidence on allegations he made during a television interview with eNCA's Annika Larsen. In the interview, he spoke of politicians' links to cartels that were essentially bleeding Eskom dry.

Hlengwa told committee members that next week's Scopa meeting would be held at Parliament in a bid to avoid connectivity issues. However, De Ruyter would not be attending in person.

"He was requested to be physically in Cape Town, but I received a request from De Ruyter through his legal representatives to appear virtually. I have acceded to that request," said Hlengwa.

The meeting will take place between 9am and 4pm.

De Ruyter resigned as Eskom CEO in December 2022. The resignation would have come into effect in March this year, but he was released from his job at the end of February after making a...