Ethical standing of execs queried

ESKOM board chairperson Jabu Mabuza has questioned the ethical standing of former executives of the utility, accusing them of facilitating its capture by business interests.

Mabuza was testifying at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture, where he said Eskom’s size had made it appealing and resulted in people acting corruptly and illegally, including executives .Mabuza placed Eskom’s former executive Matshela Koko at the heart of what he said enabled the company to be run from outside by Gupta associates. His testimony included details of emails in which Koko exchanged confidential and classified information on the utility with external parties to give them a business advantage.

Mabuza said the foundations of Eskom’s capture were cemented in 2015 following the suspension of four executives in March, which included then acting chief executive Tshediso Matona, chief financial officer Tsulu Molefe, head of commercial Dan Marokane and Koko, who headed generation. He said the suspensions, which came amid massive load shedding, created a window for other executives to be brought into Eskom, including Brian Molefe as chief executive and Anoj Singh as chief financial officer.

Mabuza said, of the four executives who were suspended, Koko curiously became the only one to be allowed to return to his job on July 20. “It is significant that on that day, in the emails that I referred to the commission, his activities on his email… we hold the view that having been suspended with the four… he was brought in and he had to demonstrate his capability and allegiance to the capturers.”

One of the emails presented to the commission by Mabuza had the subject “directives for the implementation of the national treasury cost containment instruction and government gazette” from Koko to an email of “The Businessman”, which Mabuza said was a Gupta associate, Salim Essa.

Today, Daniel Mashigo will be the second Eskom witness and will give evidence on the Brakfontein Optimum Coal mine, acquired by Gupta-owned Tegeta in 2015.