‘I did take early retirement’
FORMER Eskom boss Brian Molefe has stuck to his guns that he did not resign from the power utility but took early retirement.
He also denied he was paid R30.1 million in pension benefits, but received more than R7m.
He also disputed Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown’s affidavit in the High Court that he had resigned.
Molefe told the inquiry in Parliament yesterday that Brown had tabled three different versions in court on his departure at Eskom.
The matter is a matter of legal processes in the High Court next week.
Molefe insisted that Brown, who will give her evidence in the portfolio committee on public enterprises today, gave three different versions.
“If you go through the documents you see the minister put a version before court under oath and in that version of hers that was (deposed) under oath is that she accepted the mistake was done. Later she changed her version. If you go through those documents you will find three versions under oath by the minister,” said Molefe.
He wrote to former board chairperson Ben Ngubane that he wanted early retirement, he said. The matter would be determined in the High Court next week.
“The rules of the pension fund I understand because of the legal advice I received. On my own I cannot call myself an expert on the pension fund.”
Molefe also disputed the public protector’s report into state capture.
He said former public protector Thuli Madonsela never gave him an opportunity to respond to the allegations contained in the report. He had wanted to clear his name on state capture, but never got such an opportunity.
“The public protector did not make any findings. The advice I got is that in the absence of findings there is nothing to clear. It was my decision to clear my name but, lo and behold, when I want to clear my name the lawyers say there is no finding,” said Molefe. “There hasn’t been an opportunity to clear my name because she has not created an opportunity to clear my name,” he said.
The report by Madonsela has been challenged in court by President Jacob Zuma.
Molefe also told the inquiry he was initially employed on a permanent contract before Brown changed it and said he was on a five-year contract.
Former Eskom officials and board members have said this was the first time they had had a chief executive (CE) on a fiveyear contract. In the past they were permanent employees of Eskom.
Molefe also said they have asked Eskom to provide records of previous CEs who were given early retirement at the power utility in the past.
He said Eskom has not given them these records in court.
The Eskom Pension Fund had said it was standard practice for senior managers at Eskom to get early retirement and have the remainder of their term bought by the company until retirement age. Eskom had bought Molefe’s remaining 13 years at Eskom from the age of 50 until 63.