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Eskom executive Matshela Koko disagreed with Suzanne Daniels about the reported meeting with Salim Essa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Esa Alexander)
Eskom’s former acting CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini says Matshela Koko wanted her to join him for an “urgent” meeting at Melrose Arch on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Since he was unable to attend, Koko allegedly asked him to send your CV. Former Legal Director Suzanne Daniels claims that Koko accompanied her to Salim Essa’s office in Melrose Arch on the same day.
Evidence before Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo indicated that former Eskom bigwig Matshela Koko was involved in a plan to replace four suspended executives in 2015.
A second recent witness has detailed Koko’s actions in early March 2015.
In September 2020, former Legal Chief Suzanne Daniels testified that Koko introduced her to Gupta’s Lieutenant Salim Essa at Melrose Arch on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.
On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, former Eskom executive Nonkululeko Dlamini (née Veleti) testified that Koko called her on the phone at around 1:00 p.m. the same day.
Dlamini said Koko wanted her to meet him at Melrose Arch. Because he was attending a vital financial strategy session, Dlamini said, he was not able to meet Koko right away.
His version placed Koko in Melrose Arch, where Daniels says he met Koko, who introduced him to Essa the same day. Koko disagreed with Daniels in the briefed meeting with Essa.
According to Dlamini, Koko called her on the same day as the Melrose Arch meeting between Daniels and Koko.
“The way he indicated it was urgent, it looked like it was already there,” Dlamini said.
When Koko learned that Dlamini was unable to meet with him right away, he allegedly asked Dlamini to email him his CV..
Dlamini testified that Koko complied with her request that same afternoon and provided her with a second email address. “It was not often that an executive requested your information in that way,” he said.
Defender Pule Seleka SC, who is leading the evidence on Eskom, questioned Dlamini about whether she asked Koko to find a job for her and whether she knew where her CV was going.
To both questions, Dlamini replied: “No.”
While he was unable to meet Koko during the day, Dlamini reported that they met at a fast food establishment in Midrand around 5:30 p.m.
In Koko’s version (as reflected by Seleka), she agreed that she met the Dlamini family friend for dinner, but questioned certain details of her story.
On Thursday, March 12, 2015, the chairman of the board announced that, despite no suspicions of wrongdoing, four executives were stepping aside.
Zola Tsotsi told reporters: “To ensure that this process is as transparent and uninhibited as possible, the board also resolved that four of its senior executives […] he should resign for the duration of this investigation. “
Those suspended were Eskom CEO Tshediso Matona, CFO Tsholofelo Molefe, Group Capital Executive Dan Morokane, and Business and Technology Executive Koko.
Eskom was one of the focus areas of Madonsela’s research. Political pressure on Eskom came from above. According to consultant Nick Linnell, the notion of an investigation at Eskom came from then president Jacob Zuma.
On the same day Tsotsi announced the suspensions, Eskom’s company secretary informed the acting replacements of their promotions. Dlamini was among the new hires.
“Were you surprised to be appointed as an interim DF?” asked Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo.
Dlamini said she was shocked, despite the argument with Koko two days earlier. She resigned from Eskom months later.
On the contrary, Koko managed to recover from his suspension in mid-2015. In early 2019, the former chairman of the Eskom board, Jabu Mabuza testified about Koko’s actions after his return.
Mabuza claimed that Koko sent sensitive and privileged information about Eskom to [email protected] Email address. Salim Essa, Gupta’s ally you are believed to have managed, or at least enjoyed access to the email account.
During her September 2020 appearance to Zondo, former Eskom Chief Legal Officer Suzanne Daniels described the email address as an information portal (hence the name).
She told Zondo that she believed multiple people were accessing the inbox. Daniels was fired on Friday, July 20, 2018 due to adverse findings in a disciplinary investigation into their conduct.
On Tuesday, September 16, 2020, she testified that Koko met her at a Melrose Arch restaurant on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. From there, she said, they walked to a nearby office complex and even what she discovered was Essa’s office. .
Daniels said Essa came forward as an advisor to then-minister for public companies Lynne Brown, a position he did not formally hold. Essa reportedly asked him for advice on how to suspend Eskom seniors.
According to Daniels’ version, Essa predicted that four executives, including Koko, would soon be suspended.
In a written submission, Koko contradicted Daniels’ version, saying that he and Daniels remained at the Melrose Arch restaurant to discuss his impending suspension. However, according to Daniels, Koko was unfazed by Essa’s prognosis for suspensions (including Koko’s).
by those interested in manipulating the Eskom fortune, the leadership crisis of 2015 presented an opportunity to elect replacements for those in four powerful roles.
In 2017, the Public Companies Portfolio Committee examined Eskom’s fate. Brown was among those exposed in the evidence.
The State Capture Inquiry log includes reports from that investigation. The documents include the opinion of former SAA board chair Dudu Myeni on the Durban meeting on Sunday 8 March 2015. Many aspects of undue political influence and corruption at Eskom have been covered before, but have New details emerged of the furious activity over the March 2015 suspensions.
Zondo is evaluating state capture, corruption and fraud led by terms of reference based on the 2016 “State of Capture” report by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.
Eskom was one of the focus areas of Madonsela’s research. Political pressure on Eskom came from above. According to consultant Nick Linnell, the notion of an investigation at Eskom came from then president Jacob Zuma.
On Monday, October 5, 2020, Linnell testified about a pivotal meeting on Sunday, March 8, 2015. He said that Zuma met with Linnell, then chairman of the SAA Myeni board of directors, his son Thalente Myeni, then chairman of the board directive from Eskom Tsotsi and Jabu Maswanganyi to discuss Eskom.
Linnell, who landed a lucrative consulting job through Myeni, said Zuma pioneered the idea of research on Eskom’s seniors. Zuma was taking “excellent” action on Eskom, Linnell opined, as the country was in the grip of ongoing blackouts.
In 2015, then-Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa ran a “war room” in Eskom. Zuma was reportedly concerned that he was receiving unreliable information.
While Linnell and Tsotsi said that Zuma was part of the conversation about Eskom that day, Myeni wrote that Zuma showed up and simply greeted the group. After the meeting on Sunday, March 8, 2015, Linnell drafted the terms of reference for Eskom’s investigation, but these were not established. All four executives were suspended, which is what Zuma allegedly wanted.
The preventive suspensions pending an investigation into the conduct of the four executives provided the pretext for a changing of the guard at Eskom. The state-owned company coughed up R18.2 million in exit agreements for three of the four suspended executives.
Former board member Venete Klein defended the agreements and testified that she supported the investigation that Tsotsi defended at a board meeting.
How Daily maverickis Steve Kretzmann reported, the suspensions paved the way for Gupta’s “purchase of Optimum Coal by Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration and Resources, and the resulting flow of hundreds of millions of rands from Eskom to Tegeta. It also resulted in the appointment of Gupta’s lackey Anoj Singh as Eskom’s CFO and Brian Molefe as CEO. “
Linnell said that Maswanganyi provided him with several unattributed and undated documents about political interference and sabotage at Eskom. These informed Linnell’s consulting work for the parastatal.
He was the author of the suspension letters delivered to the four executives. Linnell also had direct access to the Eskom board at a meeting and provided information on a press release, all after being parachuted into Eskom by Myeni, who held no formal position at Eskom.
Three witnesses are scheduled to testify next: former Eskom board member Venete Klein, former company secretary Eskom Malesela Phukubje and former acting CEO of the Department of Public Enterprises Matsietsi Mokholo.
The session on Thursday, October 9, 2020 will begin at 10 a.m. DM
