Under then-Transnet chief executive Brian Molefe
South African’s woke up on Friday morning to the news that Brian Molefe will be making an audacious return to power utility Eskom after he resigned under a cloud.
His return was confirmed by board spokesperson Khulani Qoma in an interview with Radio702, who said Molefe would return to work on Monday.
The Organisation Against Tax Abuse (Outa) will be considering whether there is room to take legal action over the move, according to its energy spokesperson Ted Blom.
“Government is between a rock and a hard place over the nuclear programme,” said Blom.
But Molefe was its greatest advocate he argued, so it was “unsurprising” that he was now headed back to Eksom when these plans faced serious headwinds.
State ambitions to build 9 600 megawatts of nuclear power, spearheaded by Eskom, were recently dealt a major blow by a high court decision.
Acting chief executive Matshela Koko, who took over from Molefe after his departure, has also been implicated in controversy during his short stint in the position, after allegations surfaced that a company where his step-daughter is a director received lucrative Eskom tenders.
Molefe resigned as chief executive after being named in the public protector’s State of Capture report.
In her report, which recommended a judicial commission of inquiry into her findings, former public protector Thuli Madonsela noted the extensive communications of Molefe with members of the Gupta family or executives in Gupta linked companies. This was at a time when the Gupta-linked company Tegeta was in the process of negotiating the purchase of Optimum Coal Holdings and its Optimum Coal Mine, which supplies Eskom with coal.
Revelations included that Molefe had been taking and making calls to Gupta family members and Gupta company executives at this pivotal time – including 44 calls to Ajay Gupta, while Molefe was placed in the Saxonwold area 19 times through cellular phone records.
After his tearful resignation from Eskom late last year, Molefe has been cooling his heels as a member of parliament. But on Friday morning Parliament announced Molefe’s resignation, effective from Sunday.
Ahead of the recent cabinet reshuffle, Molefe was widely believed to have been in line for the post of finance minister.
But when president Jacob Zuma finally did drop the axe, it was Malusi Gigaba who was handed the post.
At the time of his resignation, Molefe denied any wrongdoing and said he was leaving in the interests of corporate governance.
“We are as surprised as everyone else, we do not know the reasons for his return,” said Deon Reyneke trade union Solidarity’s Eskom chief negotiator.
“But the fact of the matter is that he left controversially and now he is returning controversially,” he said
Nothing had been done about the State of Capture report, despite its revelations, he said adding that the union “will be watching developments closely”.
Neither Qoma, nor Colin Cruywagen, the spokesperson for public enterprises minister Lynne Brown were immediately available for comment.