Anton Minnaar, Eskom's executive support manager, has told Parliament’s inquiry into state capture that Brian Molefe was a permanent employee.
Minnaar told the oversight committee on public enterprises that: “It is clear in my view, that we appointed him as a permanent employee. We have never been advised differently.”
Molefe was never a contract worker at Eskom, according to Minnaar. He made this statement multiple times during the inquiry.
Eskom manager Anton Minaar now appearing before parliament's #EskomInquiry. He'll have to answer for facilitating what some have called the theft of R30m from Eskom to pay ex-CEO Brian Molefe's pension. Molefe was at Eskom for less than 20 months. pic.twitter.com/SyNylPaLos
— Anton Eberhard (@AntonEberhard) December 5, 2017
“Even up to today it am very clear he is a permanent employee, he is not a contractor,” he said.
The public enterprises evidence leader, advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, said that it was common knowledge that Molefe had a fixed-term contract. Vanara asked Minnaar to comment.
“You are the first one from Eskom to maintain that somebody on a fixed-term contract is regarded as a permanent employee,” Vanara told Minnaar.
It is a vital point as it would directly impact whether Molefe would be entitled to a pension payout.
Minaar reiterated again that he believed that Molefe was a permanent employee with a term”.
Eskom’s Pension and Provident Fund ‘s CEO, Sibusiso Luthuli, said however that Molefe was on a five-year fixed term contract.
Therefore he should have never been a member of the pension fund as permanent employees are only allowed to be members.
According to Eskom, Molefe was employed as a permanent employee after he left Transnet. Later this permanent title was changed to a five year fixed-term contract that was in fact backdated to October 1, 2015.
According to Minnaar, Brian Molefe was never a contract worker.
Brian Molefe File picture: Timothy Bernard/Independent Media
Minnaar states that when Molefe changed from a permanent worker to a fixed-term employee, he did not change or renegotiate his benefits.
“If a person is on a five-year term he has to renegotiate his entire package,” Minnaar said.