Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has declined Eskom’s proposal to give its former CEO Brian Molefe a R30 million pension payout and strongly criticised the board for leaving her in the dark about the matter.
“I have considered the Eskom board’s reasoning in formulating the proposed pension payout and cannot support it," Brown said on Sunday.
“I found the argument presented by the board on why the pension arrangement was conceived lacking in legal rationale and it cannot be substantiated as a performance reward because Mr Molefe has already been granted a performance bonus for his contribution to the turnaround of Eskom.
“Nor is the proposed pension payout justifiable in light of the current financial challenges faced not only by state-owned companies (SoCs), but by the country as a whole. I have in the past asked Eskom and the other five SoCs in my portfolio to demonstrate financial prudence and social consciousness when considering executive emoluments," she said.
“Given that I was not a party to the contract of employment concluded between the Eskom board and Mr Molefe, I have instructed the board to urgently engage Mr Molefe and report back to me with an appropriate pension proposal within seven days.
“It is unfortunate that such a sensitive and private matter was handled so recklessly. Finally, I have asked the board to investigate how its proposal got into the public domain prior to my having had the opportunity to consider it,” Brown said.