SA tech company EOH is in the headlines again, following an announcement that the DA plans to take both the company and Johannesburg mayor, Geoff Makhubo, to court over alleged involvement in corruption. CEO Stephen van Coller joined the BizNews Power Hour to discuss this in further detail. Speaking to host Alec Hogg, van Coller remarks that, “judging by the way they worded [it], I’m sure they’re looking to go after the previous management, as some of them have been implicated. We’ve done a lot of work, as management, to get that information out there and did an independent review, reporting everything we found.” – Jarryd Neves
Stephen van Coller on the DA wanting to take EOH and Geoff Makhubo to court:
I think, just judging the way [that] they worded their [statement], I’m sure they’re looking to go after the previous, old management who – some of them – have been implicated in it. Some of the names have been [made clear] in the Zondo commission. We’ve done a lot of work, as management, to actually get that information out there. We did the independent review. We got the new board, we got the new management. We reported all the stuff we found, through the ENS interview, to the SIU The Hawks, National Treasury, Zondo and everyone else. That’s where all the information comes from. I’m sure that [the DA] are looking to go after the actual people that are implicated.
On settling things with the Department of Water and Sanitation:
We’re nearly there. We’ve actually had some discussions, but we’re pretty close to getting pen and paper – I expect that to happen over the next couple of weeks. Then, those two contracts where the old management over invoiced. Our biggest issue, as you know, is that we had R865m stolen out of the business. We’ve got our own processes in place to try and recover some of that. This is why we just putting our shoulder behind the wheel, to make sure that we get as much information out there to the authorities so that they can do the right thing.
On the Zondo Commission:
The ANC set it up because, clearly, there were people in the ANC [who] wanted to get this sorted and that’s really set the ball rolling. We’ve obviously provided a lot of information into it. Our problem with the investigation is we couldn’t always follow the money – I don’t have the legislative powers or regulatory power to go and subpoena bank records and things like that. So I couldn’t follow the money.
I think a lot of our submissions – whether it was to the National treasury, the SIU, the Hawks, the SEC, the Financial Intelligence Centre and now, Zondo – they’ve taken that information to start filling out their piece of the puzzle. And you can see – I think the Zondo Commission is doing an amazing job, in how they’re actually following the money and where they’re going.Â
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