‘Colonel Molefe above board’
SALARY: EX-ESKOM BOSS IS ‘RESERVE, NOT HONORARY’
‘Different set of rules’ come into play for his hefty pay package – but union would have none of it.
The South African Defence Force (SANDF) yesterday responded to criticism around the call-up of sacked Eskom chief executive officer Brian Molefe, saying the move was above board.
Weekend reports claimed that Molefe, an honorary colonel, has been called up by SANDF and offered a salary of R57 000 a month since August.
“As previously stated, like many reserve force members who are called-up to assist the defence force in many areas of expertise, Mr Molefe has been called up on several occasions to provide the defence force with the required skill since he has been a reserve force member,” said the department of defence in a statement.
“Mr Molefe is part of the specialist group of people who time and again would be called up for specific duties over a specific short term period as per the requirement of the defence force.”
The department said reserve members were called up on “a continuous or non-continuous” basis, according to the requirements of the SANDF.
“For example, reserve members called up for border safeguarding are called up for a pre-deployment training period (37 days) and a sixmonth (180 days) deployment on the borders. At Army HQ, officers and other ranks are also called-up for extended periods when there is a requirement for expertise that is not otherwise available.”
The department said that in May 2011, the minister of defence appointed Molefe as the honorary colonel of the South African Irish Regiment.
“This appointment did not nullify his appointment as a reserve colonel, but functions in tandem.
“A different set of rules governs the utilisation of honorary colonels as indicated in the regulations for the reserve force. In the case of his duties as an honorary colonel, Molefe may not and does not receive remuneration.”
The department said it was strange that other members who were in the same category and have been called-up have never raised any eyebrows.
“One wonders why Molefe has been singled out, as the Reserve Force has many members who are remunerated according to the specific policies and regulations.”
The South African National Defence Union (Sandu) yesterday said it was “perplexed” by Molefe’s call-up and said it would be laying a fraud complaint with the police.
Advocate JG Pikkie Greeff, national secretary of Sandu, said an honorary colonel of the SANDF Reserve was not, by law, eligible for call-up into active duty.
“A valid call-up requires the incumbent to have a substantive military rank, obtained through military training, and the appropriate qualification(s). It also requires that the officer holds a commissioned rank. Molefe meets none of these requirements. Molefe’s call-up is thus unlawful and fraudulent,” said Greeff.
“It is outrageous that his pay has been backdated to a date when he was, in fact, not even on active duty – an act which in itself constitutes a separate count of fraud.
“It is incredulous that Molefe is involved in budgetary affairs of the SANDF, which inevitably provides him access to classified information, when he holds no security classification,” said Greeff.
“Molefe is a fake officer who must not expect to be treated as a real one by SANDF members.”
Molefe, who was sacked as Eskom chief executive officer in May over allegations of impropriety, could not be immediately reached for comment. – ANA