Parliamentary committee discusses state capture of Eskom

“Parliament is listening to the people,” says Ben Theron, OUTA Chief Operating Officer.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises is hearing from three organisations which have produced substantial reports recently on state capture: OUTA, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the Public Affairs Research Institute's (PARI) State Capacity Research Project.

The hearing starts at 9.30am for 10am.

The portfolio committee is preparing for its inquiry into Eskom and the briefings are expected to focus on how this utility was captured.

OUTA’s team is: Ted Blom, OUTA Portfolio Director for Energy; Dominique Msibi, OUTA’s Portfolio Director for Social Services; and Rudie Heyneke, OUTA Head of Investigations.

The three reports are: OUTA’s No room to hide: A President caught in the act; the SACC’s Unburdening Panel report; and PARI’s Betrayal of the Promise: How South Africa is being stolen.

The committee’s acting chairperson, Zukiswa Rantho, wrote in her invitation to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) that the committee had discussed allegations of state capture last month. “The committee resolved to also investigation the allegations of state capture in so far as it relates to Eskom,” she wrote.

The committee is also investigating the proposed retirement package for Brian Molefe and the attempt to reappoint him as CE.