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The state’s capture investigation on Tuesday heard how controversial former SAA board chair Dudu Myeni learned intimate details about Eskom’s inner workings and suggested solutions to repair the power company despite not being in its service.
This came up during the testimony of former Eskom president Zola Tsotsi. Tsotsi said that on March 7, 2015 he received a call from Myeni, who said then-President Jacob Zuma wanted to meet him the next day in Durban.
Tsotsi claimed to have asked Myeni what the meeting was about, but Myeni insisted that she would find out there.
After arriving in Durban, Tsotsi made her way to Zuma’s official state house and was greeted by Myeni, her son Thalente, and Nick Linnel, a consultant who had worked for Myeni at SAA.
Tsotsi testified that Myeni informed her of the purpose of the meeting.
“She [Myeni] made a statement to the effect that there are concerns about Eskom’s performance, technical and business, and said that an investigation is needed on the issues at Eskom, ”said Tsotsi.
“She said there are complaints from the War Room [a task team led by then deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa] that Eskom does not provide reliable information. He added that it was advisable to suspend certain executives so that the investigation could proceed without hindrance. ”
Myeni also expressed concern that if Eskom continued on a poor performance path, it would not be able to fulfill its obligation to supply power to South Africans.
Tsotsi said he was uncomfortable with the suggestion that Eskom executives would have to be suspended for the investigation to do its job without interference.
Zuma joined them and asked, “What are we talking about today?” “Once again, Ms. Myeni introduced the topic. The discussion was primarily led by her on issues that are causing concern about Eskom’s performance, ”said Tsotsi.
“I again raised concerns about the effect of taking the drastic action of suspending the CEO because he wants him not to prevent an investigation.”
Tsotsi said Zuma barely said anything at the meeting, as Myeni was the one who spoke the most, aside from asking who were the executives who would likely be suspended if Myeni’s suggestion was adopted.
