State power utility Eskom has refuted claims that it will change its banking institution from January 2020.
On Tuesday evening, Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina tweeted a screenshot of a WhatsApp message purporting to be from Eskom.
The message read, “Dear Eskom employee/supplier, please note that from 01 January 2020 Eskom and all its subsidiaries will change banking institutions.”
It continued, “Our new bankers, Discovery Bank, will now be our single source of transactions and payments. Our online platforms for account payments etc will update automatically. Thank you.”
‘Form of capture’
Masina accompanied the screenshot with the caption, “Cry the beloved country on this form of capture.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the Mayor’s tweet had been retweeted more than 600 times, with many Twitter users apparently believing its claim as seen in their replies.
This prompted Eskom to issue an alert indicating that the purported WhatsApp message carried fake news.
The power utility urged the public to report scams to its toll-free line – 0800 11 27 22 or email investigate@eskom.co.za.
Not the first time
This isn’t the first time Masina has made false or misleading posts on social media. A few weeks ago, he was the first to tweet a picture that purported to depict a Springboks fan adorning the apartheid flag during a rugby World Cup game.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi reposted the image, but had to apologise after it became clear that it was actually the current South African flag. Masina later deleted the picture.
In 2017, Masina also posted a claim on Instagram that German national Michael Duerr owned 57.5% of South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) shares.
However, AfricaCheck found this claim to be untrue and established that Duerr owned 0.5% (10,000 shares) of SARB’s 2 million shares.
The SARB Act stipulates that no single shareholder can own more than 10,000 shares. Masina similarly deleted the Instagram post.