Lights out for Eskom board as members set to be axed
Eskom will be in the spotlight this week when its remaining board members are expected to be removed at its annual general meeting set for Friday.
This follows the resignation of chairman Ben Ngubane last week and the failed attempt to reinstall former CE Brian Molefe.
Some board members have been implicated in a tranche of leaked e-mails between the Gupta family and its associates.
Zethembe Khoza has been appointed acting chairman until Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown can present new board appointments to the Cabinet for approval.
Eskom is left with four nonexecutive directors — Khoza, Pathmanathan Naidoo, Chwayita Mabude and Giovanni Leonardi. Its remaining executive director and chief financial officer Anoj Singh has also been linked to the Guptas.
On Monday, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will brief the media on the release of investigation reports by her office. Mkhwebane is probing complaints and allegations of state capture.
On Wednesday, Parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises will start preparing for an inquiry into the state of affairs at Eskom.
The inquiry, proposed by Brown in May 2017, will take its lead from investigations into alleged maladministration and corruption at the power utility since 2007.
On Monday, the South African Social Security Agency will submit its first progress report to the Constitutional Court in compliance with an order made in March 2017.
The court has appointed a panel to monitor the phasing out of Cash Paymaster Services, the Net1 subsidiary that distributes social grants.
On Thursday, the court ordered an investigation into Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s personal liability in the social grants matter. This will help the court determine whether to hold Dlamini personally liable for the grants payment debacle.
This week, the ANC starts preparations for its national policy conference and will conduct a site visit and technical briefing at the Nasrec Expo Centre on Monday.
The party’s provincial structures will also start preparing for the conference, with Gauteng regions holding conferences to consolidate branch proposals on the ANC policy discussion documents.
On Wednesday, AuditorGeneral Kimi Makwetu will release audits of the country’s municipalities for the 2015-16 financial year. In 2016 Makwetu said irregular expenditure by municipalities had more than doubled in the past five years to R14.75bn.
On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma will provide oral answers to questions by members of Parliament at the National Assembly plenary.