No-show by Molefe

Delegates at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday were disappointed, if not surprised, at the last-minute by news that Brian Molefe, the newly returned Eskom chief executive, would not be opening the 17th annual African Utility Week as scheduled.

He was to make one of his first public appearances since the Eskom board announced last week that he was returning to his job as chief executive officer.

Molefe resigned from Eskom under a cloud in November last year after he was implicated in the public protector’s State of Capture report over an alleged improper relationship with the Gupta family who were, at the time, angling for business with the power utility.

His reappointment at the helm of the state-owned utility caused widespread public outrage and is the subject of a court application by the Democratic Alliance filed on Monday.

The DA is requesting an interdict to prevent Molefe from working as Eskom’s boss.

Former mining minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi this week made damning new allegations that Molefe and Eskom board chair Ben Ngubane put pressure on him to push Glencore out of business to help the Guptas acquire a mine owned by the resources giant. Eskom has denied the allegations.

Africa Utility Week, which runs until tomorrow, is a gathering of 7 000 delegates from more than 80 countries to discuss the continent’s latest problems and solutions.

Attention now turns to “an exciting announcement” by Eskom’s chief nuclear officer, Dave Nicholls, tomorrow. – ANA

Molefe was to make one of his first public appearances since the Eskom board announced last week that he would be returning to his job as CEO.