seen very little progress. It is not good enough to tell us we need to be patient. Our patience has run out. That runway is closed. We need to see results, we need to see people in court, we need to see prosecutions. We need to see people going to jail. It’s as simple as that.” Speaking to the FM following Batohi’s appearance in parliament, Breytenbach says there are plenty of large-scale corruption cases dating back to the early 2010s that “must get attended to”. But there are more recent ones that would boost citizens’ confidence in the criminal justice system if prosecutions were brought, she says. “South Africans should be able to see that if you break the law you go to jail.” Breytenbach cites the theft of public funds destined for personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat Covid, and the Life Esidimeni horror. “Stealing money from PPE — that’s a priority. When you send disabled people off to die — that’s a priority,” she says. “As soon as you do this, all this pressure will go away. Then people will be prepared to wait for a result.” In Batohi’s defence, the NPA hasn’t received anything close to the funding it needs to go after SA’s insouciant crooks. More than R422m was cut from the organisation’s original budget and R41m from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in the last financial year (the NPA got R4.5bn, and the SIU R438m). The ID has a budget of about R324m over three years. “Bubblegum money,” sniffs Breytenbach. Batohi argues that “moving too fast with cases is counterproductive”. We say moving just a little might be quite helpful. x Giulietta Talevi
Ramaphosa is ready to act on the findings — particularly in an ANC election year, with Zuma’s remaining allies in the party looking for any excuse to weaken the president. Zuma may not be in jail any more, but he’s not off the hook. Apart from his pending corruption trial, the DA is challenging his release on medical parole. And Zuma-Sambudla faces possible criminal charges for inciting violence. It means that, sadly, the country hasn’t seen the last of the 79-year-old Zuma — whose ability to weaken the fabric of its democracy has left any legacy he may have claimed in tatters.. x
next year. As for Zuma? This week he released the first instalment of his biography, Jacob Zuma Speaks. It won’t surprise anyone to learn that it’s hardly the long-awaited tell-all about the skeletons in his comrades’ closets; rather, it’s a sanitised and glowing account of his presidency — a period Ramaphosa has called “nine wasted years”. It may be Zuma firing up the propaganda machine early, ahead of Zondo’s final report, due on January 1. Once Ramaphosa gets that document, expect Zuma and his allies to again attack the judiciary. The key question will be whether
business
ESKOM’S HEART OF DARKNESS Persistent load-shedding has kept SA’s struggling power utility solidly in the news this year — and its underfire CEO André de Ruyter along with it Rob Rose roser@fm.co.za
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ou wouldn’t have wanted to be Eskom CEO André de Ruyter this past year. Never mind juggling R402bn in debt, it was the crippling bouts of rolling blackouts that gave his critics an opening to call for his axing after less than two years in the job. “It has been one of the most challenging years since I started my career 32 years ago,” De Ruyter tells the FM. “We’ve definitely made progress on some important strategic imperatives, but the big disappointment has been load-shedding.” That’s no exaggeration. At one point in June, more than a third of Eskom’s generating units had broken down, as its energy availability factor — the percentage of power available for dispatch — fell to 64% from about 84% in 2011. The blackouts became so frequent that they spawned an entire cottage industry of Eskom jokes. Have you heard the one, for instance, of how André temporarily handed
Freddy Mavunda
concluded that the police didn’t have a handle on the situation. This week, University of Pretoria professor Sandy Africa’s panel, charged with looking into the government and the security cluster’s response, is set to present its draft report on the July unrest to Ramaphosa. It is believed to offer a comprehensive — and damning — account of events. Ramaphosa has already shaken up his cabinet once since the unrest, ousting some ministers in the security cluster. Further shifts may be on the cards, given the Africa report, as well as Zondo’s final report, which is set to be handed to the president early
André de Ruyter: It’s been frustrating for me that we haven’t made more progress
control of Eskom to his sister, Jenna Ruyter? De Ruyter says he’s heard them all — often sent to him by friends and family. “That doesn’t make it any funnier or more palatable,” he says. “I do take it very personally. It’s immensely disappointing when I have to go out and share with the public that there will be load-shedding, particularly when it could have been avoided.” It doesn’t help that there is little tangible sense of progress. In November, shortly after the elections, Eskom’s power crisis deepened, leading to a December 16 - December 22, 2021
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