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Former Eskom Board Chairman Zola Tsotsi (Photo: Gallo Images / Business Day / Russell Roberts)
Gupta’s Lt. Salim Essa briefed former Public Business Minister Lynne Brown on Eskom’s board subcommittee positions, former board chairman Zola Tsotsi told the Zondo Commission.
The State Capture Inquiry has heard how a list of recommendations for a subcommittee of the Eskom board flowed from Gupta’s Lt. Salim Essa to former Public Business Minister Lynne Brown. Former Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi testified on Friday, February 26, how he realized that “there must be a relationship” between the two if Essa could pass that information on to Brown.
Tsotsi served as chairman of the Eskom board between June 2011 and March 2015. In Friday’s commission, he explained that on December 16, 2014, he had sent Brown two emails with lists for a subcommittee of the Eskom board. . One of the lists was his and the other was sent on behalf of Essa, an acquaintance Lieutenant gupta.
Essa’s list had spelling errors, including Zethemba Khosa’s name misspelled as “Zathembe Xhosa.” Aside from the spelling mistake, Tsotsi did not reveal if there were different names on the two lists, nor did he elaborate on how different the lists were from each other.
But he claimed that Brown had approved Essa’s list. Tsotsi told the commission that “there must be a relationship” between Essa and Brown for Essa to send that email. But Eskom’s test leader, Pule Seleka (SC), told Tsotsi that Brown questioned his allegations.
Seleka read a response from Brown stating that she had never seen Tsotsi’s list and that he never indicated what his list was like. Seleka said it was “strange” that Brown claimed that he had not received Tsotsi’s list, as there was clear evidence of an email exchange between the two. Tsotsi also questioned how Brown couldn’t have seen his list.
“He may have reason to say so, ”Tsotsi said.
The chairman of the commission, Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo, asked why Tsotsi did not identify his list to Brown, which was different from Essa’s list. Tsotsi didn’t give an answer.
After several attempts by the commission to establish whether there were any changes to the list accepted by Brown, Tsotsi finally admitted in January that after Brown returned from vacation there was a change: Tsotsi had retired from the Investment and Finance subcommittee.
He stated that Brown was unhappy to be removed from the committee, but agreed when he provided a name for his replacement. Tsotsi did not provide the commission with the name of his replacement.
Other than that, Tsotsi told the commission that the composition of the subcommittee was “substantially” the same as the list provided by Essa.
Zondo said the test team needed to find the final subcommittee composition list.
Tsotsi told the commission that after a later meeting with Brown at his Tshwane residence, in which he alleges that Rajesh “Tony” Gupta and Salim Essa were present, he realized that Brown was “serving other interests.” In a previous appearance before the commission, Tsotsi claimed that the Guptas pulled the strings at Eskom towards the end of his term.
During the parliamentary inquiry into Eskom in 2017, Tsotsi stated that his relationship with Brown had soured. When he left Eskom, Tsotsi saying “I had practically no contact with the minister.”
On Monday, the commission is due to hear testimony from former Eskom executive Matshela Koko. DM
