Cape Town - Eskom board chairperson Dr Ben Ngubane has hit back at those accusing him of corporate governance failures at the SABC and Eskom.
He says his critics “lack the facts” about his tenure at the two organisations.
Ngubane bore the brunt of a wave of attacks from all parties in Parliament during separate portfolio committee meetings this week.
MPs said it was under his watch that the SABC lurched into a crisis that resulted in the collapse of its board and its current state of near bankruptcy. He has also been blamed for corporate governance failures and alleged malfeasance at Eskom.
The power utility is now facing multiple inquiries for irregularities, and the re-appointment of Brian Molefe as chief executive.
The Eskom inquiry by Parliament comes just a few months after the National Assembly concluded another inquiry into the SABC, where Ngubane’s name also featured prominently.
It was this stick that MPs used to suggest that Ngubane had failed to properly manage the two institutions.
But Ngubane stuck stubbornly to his narrative. He had done nothing wrong at the SABC and Eskom, he said. In fact, under his watch both institutions had shown great financial improvement, he added.
Spokesman for the Eskom board Khulani Qoma said Ngubane could not be faulted for his work at Eskom and SABC.
“The parliamentary inquiry into the SABC did not find any wrongdoing by Dr Ngubane. It is important to mention that various allegations about him are untested and therefore baseless,” said Qoma.