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Former Eskom Board Chairman Ben Ngubane. Image: screenshot
NEWS
Former Eskom board chairman Ben Ngubane told the Zondo commission on the capture of the state that the board was not opposed to the appointment of former chief executive Brian Molefe, whose appointment had been anticipated by the Gupta family partner. , Salim Essa, the year before, because he was highly qualified and experienced.
Testifying before the commission on Tuesday, Ngubane said it was former public company minister Lynne Brown who suggested that Molefe be seconded by Transnet.
However, the commission’s test leader, advocate Pule Seleka, questioned this, saying that “someone outside the cabinet, outside Parliament, outside the public companies [state-owned enterprises], ”He had prophesied the appointment of Molefe a year earlier.
According to evidence before the commission, the first person to mention that Molefe was to be appointed CEO of Eskom was Essa, who allegedly boasted of having intervened in that appointment.
Former managing director of railways at transit solutions company Hatch, Henk Bester, told the commission that Essa had told the meeting with the former CFO of Transnet and Eskom and other Hatch executives that they had already decided who would become in the next CEO of the energy company before Molefe was appointed.
It is understood that to “make way” for Molefe, four senior Eskom officials were removed, including Chief Executive Officer Tshediso Matona, Chief Financial Officer Tsholofelo Molefe, Group Capital Director Dan Marokane, and Chief Executive Officer commercial and technological Matshela Koko.
Seleka also noted that, based on the evidence before the commission, there were at least two meetings to discuss the appointment of Molefe.
One of the meetings was allegedly held at the Ngubane office, but no minutes were taken, and the other was at a restaurant in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, where Essa allegedly spoke most of the time.
Glencore and its subsidiaries were only interested in making a profit [regardless of] if Eskom suffered damage due to the poor quality of the coal that was burning.
Ben ngubane
However, Ngubane denied that Molefe’s secondment to Eskom was negotiated outside of the boardroom, saying that they had written to the board of Transnet, where Molefe was serving at the time, and the board had accepted the assignment.
“We had written to the Transnet board, they agreed, so we were just crossing the T’s and dotting the I. It wasn’t the original start of that request. Of course, being president was in my office and I presented the issue of the secondment of Mr. Molefe, not that I was initiating that process, “said Ngubane.
He said the decisions made by Molefe during his tenure at Eskom were commendable because it prevented multinational mining companies like Glencore from mining Eskom by supplying low grade coal, while the company reserved its quality coal for the international market.
Brian Molefe. Image: Leon Sadiki / City Press
“There was a period when the price of export coal skyrocketed in dollars and all the coal producers tried to enter the international market. At the time, the Optimum Coal mine was washing its coal, making the best for export and delivering garbage to Eskom, even that garbage was under the stipulated coal supplier agreement. That’s when the issue of sanctions started to come up, ”Ngubane said.
He said it was pathetic that large multinational companies were allowed to exploit the country’s resources for profit.
“I think this was a very felt sensitivity at Eskom. Glencore and its subsidiaries were only interested in making a profit [regardless of] whether Eskom was damaged due to the poor quality of the coal that was burning; they didn’t care. “
Read | Billions wasted: suppliers and former Eskom executives must testify in Zondo commission
Brown was implicated in the commission by former Eskom president Zola Tsotsi, who said during her testimony that she was allegedly under the influence of the Guptas.
Tsotsi told the commission at the time that one of the Gupta brothers, Tony, had access to conversations between the Eskom board members.
He alleged that Brother Gupta has shown him transcripts of messages that speak of utility.
Brown did not deny that he had a relationship with the Gupta family, but he refuted claims that he was under or working for them.
He even went so far as to attempt to question former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, who testified before the commission that Ajay Gupta told him that the Gupta family “worked closely” with several senior government officials, including Brown and Molefe.
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