Molefe ally abruptly quits
Eskom’s divisional executive for security, Tebogo Rakau, has resigned with immediate effect. Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe confirmed in an SMS response to Business Day that Rakau‚ appointed by former CEO Brian Molefe in 2015‚ had resigned on Tuesday.
Eskom’s divisional executive for security, Tebogo Rakau, has resigned with immediate effect.
Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe confirmed in an SMS response to Business Day that Rakau‚ appointed by former CEO Brian Molefe in 2015‚ had resigned on Tuesday.
Sources said Rakau was facing an internal investigation‚ but Phasiwe did not answer questions about the nature of the probe or Rakau’s reasons for resigning.
Phasiwe said Eskom was “not at liberty to disclose employer-employee contractual matters with third parties”.
When Molefe took over the reins at the power utility‚ he carved out the position for Rakau, who previously served as Transnet’s security chief.
Rakau‚ along with Eskom’s disgraced former chief financial officer Anoj Singh‚ were among the senior staff Molefe brought over from Transnet.
He served as the chief of security at Transnet Freight Rail after leaving the army, where he was senior staff officer in the office of the chief of the South African National Defence Force.
Rakau’s departure from Eskom, together with those of other Molefe allies, is part of the clean-up process being undertaken by the new Eskom management and board.
The Mail & Guardian reported in 2015 that Rakau’s appointment had raised suspicion‚ with sources telling the newspaper they believed his primary task would be to uncover whistleblowers responsible for exposing scandals at Eskom.
His resignation was abrupt. Only a week ago he addressed the media after R5m worth of cable and equipment stolen from the parastatal was recovered in Muldersdrift, west of Johannesburg.
Rakau said then that the monetary value of the material recovered was a cause for concern as it was indicative of organised, syndicate-driven criminal activity. He said Eskom and the police had intensified the fight against infrastructure theft.