Eskom inquiry not really fair, says Molefe
• Former Eskom boss says he has not even seen the terms of reference of parliamentary hearings into parastatals
Former Eskom boss Brian Molefe has criticised the parliamentary inquiry into the affairs of the power utility, saying the process is unfair. He said this was because the committee leading the inquiry had failed to give him an indication as to when he would be afforded an opportunity to state his side of the story.
Former Eskom boss Brian Molefe has criticised the parliamentary inquiry into the affairs of the power utility, saying the process is unfair.
This was because the committee leading the inquiry had failed to give him an indication as to when he would be afforded an opportunity to state his side of the story.
“My concern is that they are going ahead with the inquiry and they have not indicated when they will call me … I haven’t even seen the terms of reference,” Molefe said on Monday.
“Parliament is going into recess in December … and there are all these things people are saying about me and I haven’t been able to respond.”
Molefe’s role — and that of former and current executives — in the governance lapses at the power utility has been under scrutiny as Parliament’s public enterprises portfolio committee conducts its inquiry into the capture of Eskom, as well as of Denel and Transnet.
The committee has also questioned Molefe’s R30.1m “golden handshake” and his membership of the Eskom pension fund.
In October, the committee heard from the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund that the power utility misrepresented Molefe’s employment status, which allowed him to be a member of the fund.
Molefe was employed on a five-year contract and, according to the fund’s rules, only permanent employees qualify to belong to it.
Molefe has approached the Labour Court to challenge his dismissal from the power utility. He claims the move was contractually illegal and was politically motivated.
“It is unfair that people are talking about me [at the inquiry] but I have not been given an opportunity to respond.” There appeared to be a growing trend of “not hearing the other side”.
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela had not given him a chance to respond to her report on state capture, which included his cellphone showing he had made numerous calls to one of the Gupta brothers.
Similarly, the South African Council of Churches had not afforded him the chance to respond to its scathing report on state capture. Further, Molefe said the group of academics led by University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business professor Anton Eberhard, who authored the Eskom inquiry booklet, had not given him an opportunity to reply.
“The other thing is load shedding. It was a big issue, but nobody is trying to find out what caused it and what defeated it … why is there no parliamentary inquiry on that and the cost of coal?” asked Molefe.
Zukiswa Rantho, the acting chairwoman of the portfolio committee on public enterprises, said Molefe and everyone else implicated so far would be called in to testify.
“We are just not sure when … we will call everyone, especially those whose names have been mentioned so far … it might be this year or the beginning of next year,” said Rantho.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and possibly Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba would be called to testify.
The inquiry is due to continue on Tuesday.