Eskom Employee Busted for Stealing Diesel Worth R500k From Western Cape Power Station

• An Eskom employee was caught stealing thousands of litres of diesel from the power utility
• The man allegedly allowed a vehicle to collect stolen diesel and would declare the truck empty when it left the premises
• The crime mirror one that happened in East London where two security guards did the same thing

CAPE TOWN - An Eskom plant worker has found himself on the wrong side of the law after stealing approximately R500 000 worth of diesel from one of the power utilities plants in Atlantis, Western Cape.

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said Angelo Cysman, the Eskom employee, allegedly allowed a vehicle to collect diesel from the power plant. Cysman would then declare the truck was empty when in reality it still contained all the diesel.

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Cysman was arrested on Friday 23 December and appeared in court on 28 December when he was released on R50 000 bail. The matter has been postponed to 24 February, SNL24 reported.

Security guards busted for stealing 6 000l of fuel in East London

Another similar crime happened at an Eskom plant in East London. Two contracted guards at the Port Rex power station were arrested on Monday, 2 January for stealing diesel worth just under R146 000.

According to News24, the men were apprehended after a through internal investigation uncovered that the guards had allowed a vehicle to collect stolen diesel during night shifts.

South Africans react to the arrest of the Eskom employee

South African are fed up with the sabotage at South Africa's only power utility.

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Below are some comments:

Kgothatso Collen Mohlala complained:

"Greed will forever be the biggest problem is South Africa."

Sciemon Wa Mohurutshe added:

"When former C.E.O said it was sabotage people insulted him."

Rayleen Minolta Joseph commented:

"One down a couple more to go."

Bongani Ngobeni speculated:

"The court will release him due to a lack of evidence."

Tavhanyani Mainganye claimed:

"People who work at Eskom are once causing this loadshedding."

Eskom increases security at power plant to curb corruption and sabotage: “It’s about time” citizens complain

In another story, Briefly News reported that ailing power utility Eskom has decided to institute a variety of security measures to curb corruption and sabotage at its power plants.

This comes after the Presidency deployed 200 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to four power stations in Mpumalanga in December to combat sabotage, theft, vandalism and corruption, TimesLIVE reported.

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Eskom has reported that contractors have been colluding with power utility employees to sabotage its plants so that they can be awarded repair contracts. There have also been reports of a "coal mafia" sending substandard coal and on some occasions even rocks.

Source: Briefly News