JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday that they will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Energy, Fikile Majola, to request a legal opinion on the appointment of the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) Acting CEO, Thabane Zulu.
Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced Zulu’s secondment in her budget speech on 17 May, saying Zulu would be transferred from his post as the Director-General of Energy ‘in light of the report on the selling of strategic fuel reserves for the country’.
According to a statement from the DA, it said that they are contesting the legality of the secondment on the basis that Kubayi, in her role as minister, is not an SFF shareholder and cannot, therefore, interfere with the Fund’s operations and the appointments of board members or management.
The statement read, "Kubayi has flouted the requirement that the Central Energy Fund make a recommendation to the Minister for the appointment of a CEO of one of its subsidiaries. The minister’s meddling in the affairs of the SFF is simply unacceptable. The acting CEO is leading a major operational shift in the SFF with a new focus on oil exploration, a distinct deviation from its memorandum of incorporation, which is high risk and is responsible for the dire financial situation at PetroSA."
The party also stated that should the appointment of Zulu be found to be invalid, so too would all the decisions taken by him.
"The DA will ensure that South Africa averts a disaster such as the one we witnessed when the country’s fuel reserves were sold," the statement concluded.