Concerted efforts by the South African Police Services' Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI) and Eskom have led to the arrest of a former contractor employee at the embattled power utility’s Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga on Friday.
The arrest is in connection with alleged prior transgressions committed while the suspect was employed by Eskom in the capacity of Senior Buyer at Arnot Power Station, also situated in the province, in 2014.
In a statement, Eskom said the arrest followed allegations that a supplier was awarded an order for the supply of Bowl Pumps and received a down payment of R14.7 million upfront without the goods being delivered.
The power utility said it then had to place an urgent order for the material with another company and suffered financial loss as a consequence.
It says an1 internal Eskom investigation found that the employee facilitated the payment without authorisation and resigned soon thereafter.
The investigation also found that the supplier in question, which is no longer operational, had no track record in dealing with Eskom nor had any previous orders.
Several misrepresentations and irregularities that appear to indicate that the employee’s involvement amounted to fraud and corruption were also uncovered.
Eskom said a criminal case was subsequently registered following the probe.
“We are grateful to the DPCI that the long arm of the law finally caught up with the suspect three years later,” said Amos Phoshoko, Acting Senior Manager for Forensic and Anti-Corruption at Eskom.
“The arrest of the employee having left the employ of Eskom is an encouraging step in our persistent efforts in the fight against fraud and corruption.
“It will serve as deterrent to would be criminals who thought they could get away with crime by merely resigning from the organisation,” he said.
The suspect has been remanded in custody for a bail application on Wednesday 22 March 2023.
