News24.com | SSA operative was sent to watch me at COP27 - De Ruyter

André de Ruyter.

• Outgoing Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter claimed he was followed by a spy at COP27.
• The climate change event was held in Egypt in November.
• De Ruyter made the claim during a wide-ranging interview on e.tv.

In a no-holds barred interview, outgoing Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter has claimed that a State Security Agency (SSA) operative was sent to watch him at COP27, the United Nations climate change conference, in Egypt last November.

In an interview on e.tv’s My guest tonight with Annika Larsen, De Ruyter pulled no punches as he spoke about allegations of brazen corruption, law enforcement ineptitude and politicians' complicity in the destruction of the parastatal.

Speaking about law enforcement’s response to criminal issues at Eskom and its power stations, De Ruyter spoke about his disappointment in both the South African Police Service and the SSA.

"If you look at state security, this is an existential threat to the state. My non-legal definition of treason is if you take money to do something that is to the detriment of the state,” De Ruyter said in the interview.

"There are acts of treason going on on a daily basis in Mpumalanga and state security are missing in action. They did see fit however, to send one of their agents to COP27 to keep an eye on me."

READ | Eskom sabotage: How De Ruyter was undermined by new board, excluded from meetings, forced to resign

According to De Ruyter, a friend of his asked the reported agent what he was doing there, to which the operative allegedly replied that he was just "keeping an eye on the big guy".

"Clearly, I am under suspicion of treasonous activity, but the real culprits can act with impunity," De Ruyter remarked.

Responding to the allegation that an agent was sent to watch De Ruyter, SSA spokesperson Mava Scott told News24 that the law prohibits the agency from discussing matters of an operational nature with third parties.

De Ruyter also spoke about his disappointment in police and referenced an alleged incident in which an Eskom buyer was arrested after it was found that he had been buying knee pads for R80 000 a pair, when the same pads could be bought for around R320 from Builders Warehouse.

The Eskom boss said the suspect was released a day later with no charges brought against him on the instructions of a senior police officer.

"You have to say, how is this possible? I think it's fair to say the response of the South African police has been disappointing.”

He did, however, add that intelligence had been shared with select officers, but that the investigation was not popular internally.

In another case of criminality, De Ruyter said there were four sophisticated and well-organised cartels operating within Eskom in Mpumalanga.

News24 has reached out to the police for comment.

Their responses will be added once received.