Eskom head suspended
ESKOM HAS suspended its chief financial officer pending a disciplinary hearing, the utility has said.
The suspension of Anoj Singh was announced yesterday as the Pretoria High Court ruled it could not compel President Jacob Zuma to set up a commission of inquiry into alleged influence-peddling by the Gupta family.
The DA had asked the court to force Zuma to establish a commission, based on a report last year by the Public Protector into allegations that brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta had swayed the appointment of ministers.
Singh was suspended pending an investigation into allegations that he granted preferential treatment to bidders supplying coal to the state-owned enterprise. Leaked e-mails, which could not be independently verified, suggested he favoured companies controlled by the Guptas.
Zuma, the Gupta brothers and Singh have denied the accusations.
The court said it could not compel Zuma to establish a commission of inquiry pending a judicial review on the report that called for the probe.
The president has challenged the report in court, arguing that the public protector had no right to ask him to form such a commission, as this was solely his prerogative.
“To compel the president at this stage would not only be tantamount to denying the hearing or his day in court, but it would also be understood to mean the public protector’s powers were unassailable irrespective of the content of the decision,” Pretoria High Court Judge Motsamai Makume said.
New allegations of inappropriate collusion between state-owned companies and the Gupta brothers have put more pressure on Zuma and ministers close to him. The court ruling was a boost for the scandal-plagued Zuma at a difficult time.
Allegations of widespread corruption and state capture have dented investor confidence in an economy that slid into a recession earlier this year.
On Wednesday, thousands of Cosatu members marched in anticorruption protests against Zuma three months before a new ANC leader will be chosen.
Zuma survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament in August, but lost the support of a number of ANC MPS, reflecting deep divisions within the party.
The DA said it approached the court to avoid delays in investigating influence-peddling allegations.
“On a number of occasions, including before the National Assembly, the president said he would establish a commission of inquiry.
“To date, he has not done so,” said DA spokesman James Selfe.
NKC African Economics analyst Gary van Staden said the legal battles would only prolong investigations: “It’s not going to bring any finality to what’s been going on.” – Reuters