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Johannesburg - Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga insulted Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan in court papers he filed to get an R85m payout for unlawful dismissal, and so can't be reinstated, the High Court in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday.
In papers filed two months after his sacking last November amid a dispute over whether he had resigned, he accused her of colluding with the board to say he had in fact stepped down.
Hogan's counsel Karel Tip said the minister was not present at the meeting on October 28 when he said he could not agree with chairperson Bobby Godsell and opted to resign in an "elegant and amicable" manner. Nor was she involved in the October 30 event where the board said it accepted his resignation.
Hogan only came into the picture later when she and her deputy Enoch Godongwana met Maroga to try and resolve the dispute, because of the important role the power utility plays.
However, in papers lodged with the court in January to challenge his sacking, he accused her of colluding with the board and acting unethically by saying he had resigned, the court heard.
The CEO is Eskom's nerve centre and a relationship of trust between Hogan and Maroga was essential. Maroga set out to speak in the "most derogatory" way about the board and Hogan in court papers, Tip said.
These were not said on the spur of the moment, but two months after the dispute.
Maroga isolated parliament and the public and deliberately withheld facts at the time of the controversy. He acted
unethically, was biased, "and so it goes on", said Tip.
"These are not statements that a cabinet minister can tolerate... He said the relationship of confidence and trust had broken down."
Maroga is claiming the settlement because he was subsequently fired on the grounds of poor performance.
The case continues.
- Sapa
In papers filed two months after his sacking last November amid a dispute over whether he had resigned, he accused her of colluding with the board to say he had in fact stepped down.
Hogan's counsel Karel Tip said the minister was not present at the meeting on October 28 when he said he could not agree with chairperson Bobby Godsell and opted to resign in an "elegant and amicable" manner. Nor was she involved in the October 30 event where the board said it accepted his resignation.
Hogan only came into the picture later when she and her deputy Enoch Godongwana met Maroga to try and resolve the dispute, because of the important role the power utility plays.
However, in papers lodged with the court in January to challenge his sacking, he accused her of colluding with the board and acting unethically by saying he had resigned, the court heard.
The CEO is Eskom's nerve centre and a relationship of trust between Hogan and Maroga was essential. Maroga set out to speak in the "most derogatory" way about the board and Hogan in court papers, Tip said.
These were not said on the spur of the moment, but two months after the dispute.
Maroga isolated parliament and the public and deliberately withheld facts at the time of the controversy. He acted
unethically, was biased, "and so it goes on", said Tip.
"These are not statements that a cabinet minister can tolerate... He said the relationship of confidence and trust had broken down."
Maroga is claiming the settlement because he was subsequently fired on the grounds of poor performance.
The case continues.
- Sapa
