Home

Courts likely to condone breach of confidentiality clauses in Eskom matter: Expert

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Labour Law Specialist, Tzvi Brivik, says courts are likely to condone breaching confidentiality clauses containing factual information if it is in the public interest.

This comes as Eskom Board Chairperson Mpho Makwana has condemned former CEO André de Ruyter’s decision to breach confidentiality in order to write his tell-all book about alleged corruption at the power utility.

Makwana says de Ruyter broke trust and committed various transgressions by breaching the company’s rules when publishing his book, ‘Truth to Power’.

In the book, De Ruyter makes serious allegations of political interference and corruption at Eskom.

Eskom says it is considering taking legal action against its former CEO for breaching the confidentiality clause in his employment contract.

Brivik says the truth will come out sooner or later.

“What Mr Makwana would like was for these allegations to remain confidential and to remain within the private domain of Eskom and he’s grappling to find the right resource in law to prevent the book from being published. In essence, what a confidentiality clause does is to protect the employer from the disclosure of information that’s propriety to the employer. But there are instances where employees can breach that confidentiality clause to see if the content of that information whether or not is in the public interests for that Infor to be disclosed.”

“Smear campaign”

Meanwhile, Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, has described de Ruyter’s allegations as a smear campaign covering up for his failure to perform at the power utility.

Gordhan has also refused to divulge the names of the implicated people in Eskom graft saying the allegations were untested.

VIDEO | Gordhan describes de Ruyter’s conduct as a smear campaign: 

Author

MOST READ