South African Power Utlity Graft Revealed in State Capture Report

The Presidency has received the fourth part of the the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector. The report dedicates a section to the capture and deterioration of of national power utility Eskom.

"Much of the woes in which Eskom finds itself stem from corruption perpetrated by Eskom's own executives and managers in the field of procurement," the report says. Other findings include how the ruling African national Congress (ANC) Cabinet, ANC deployees and the controversial Gupta business family conspired to seize control of the national power utility.

Previously, the third volume of the report on the three-year-long Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture made multiple findings on how governmental service provider Bosasa targeted the Department of Correctional Services and public entities, enabling it to benefit from unlawful state contracts.

The initial release of the report sent shockwaves from an 87-page examination of how former president Jacob Zuma and his accomplices captured the South African Revenue Service. The report recommended prosecution against former high-ranking lawmakers and their public and private sector affiliates.

It also called for greater protection of whistleblowers and the establishment of a single, multifunctional, properly resourced and independent anti-corruption authority by the government, with a mandate to "confront the abuses inherent in the present system".