The ANC took the gloves off yesterday to blast Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, saying the reinstatement of Brian Molefe as Eskom boss amounted to perjury.
In one of the strongest rebukes of an ANC deployee, the party stopped short of accusing Brown and the power utility’s board of lying.
This was while an ANC parliamentary group charged that Brown and Eskom board chairperson Dr Ben Ngubane’s failure to give satisfactory answers on Molefe gave rise to a suspicion that there was fraud when he was made an MP.
Brown and Ngubane faced a grilling from MPs, with former finance minister Pravin Gordhan asking what their relationship was with President Jacob Zuma’s controversial friends, the Guptas.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the contradictory statements by Eskom and Brown before the portfolio committee on public enterprises called for decisive action by Parliament.
Kodwa said according to the “incoherent version”, Molefe had never resigned from Eskom but rather was on unpaid leave.
This, Kodwa argued, was in contradiction of Molefe’s own statement when he left the utility that he did so in the interests of good corporate governance.
The statements also contradicted Brown’s letter in November, in which she approved the appointment Matshela Koko as the acting chief executive, following the “resignation” of Molefe.
“On the strength of the representations from Brown and Molefe, the ANC acceded to his nomination as a member of Parliament,” said Kodwa.
“Not only are these latest developments disingenuous to say the least, they amount to perjury. The ANC calls on the government and Parliament to act decisively to deal with this irrational and untenable situation,” said Kodwa.
On Monday, Molefe and Eskom told the court that he and the company were under the mistaken belief that he was eligible for early retirement when he left. Pressed on perjury comments, Kodwa said the story on Molefe had been “changing every day”.
Independent legal counsel, advocate Ben Winks, said he thought what they (ANC) were referring to as perjury were the affidavits filed in the litigation.
“Remember, Eskom board chairperson Ben Ngubane, minister Lynne Brown and Brian Molefe himself filed affidavits under oath on the issue of early retirement.
“They said: ‘No, we didn’t realise he (Molefe) was not entitled to early retirement’.
“If you file an affidavit under oath or make any false statements under oath, deliberately, that is tantamount to perjury. You can be imprisoned for up to two years.”
Eskom has been flip-flopping on the reasons why Molefe was reinstated, from saying he had resigned to now offering early retirement as the reason.
Zukiswa Rantho, the acting chairperson of the ANC study group on public enterprises, said Molefe’s reappointment should be scrapped and a parliamentary commission instituted. She lambasted Brown and Ngubane, saying they lacked comprehension of the crisis they had caused at Eskom.
“The department and the board failed to clarify the basis of Mr Molefe’s reinstatement,” she pointed out.
“The explanations provided around Mr Molefe’s state of employment at Eskom, or the lack thereof, raises serious questions around possible fraud,” she added.
Rantho said she would approach National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete to institute an inquiry into Eskom.
The committee wanted all the documents from Eskom within 14 days, for the inquiry to begin.
Brown told the committee she would institute an investigation into Eskom, and had roped in the Special Investigating Unit. Gordhan, who is a member of the committee, also said there was a lot of rot at Eskom.
He said a thorough forensic investigation at Eskom was needed and called on Brown to launch it. DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said Eskom was taking Parliament for a ride.
Eskom board chairperson Ngubane said they would welcome any forensic probe.