Eskom to investigate if Molefe documents were destroyed

Cape Town – Eskom will investigate whether documents and correspondence that relate to the reinstatement of Brian Molefe as chief executive were destroyed shortly after they were requested by Parliament.

This follows a statement by Democratic Alliance MP Natasha Mazzone on Wednesday, which stated: “The DA has it on good authority that Eskom is currently in the process of destroying key documents and correspondence relating to the Molefe fiasco.”

READ: Eskom denies destroying Molefe papers, but DA says source is solid

Molefe’s reinstatement is a matter of legal and legislative concern.

The DA’s trial to have his reinstatement rescinded will be heard in the North Gauteng High Court on June 6. In addition, Eskom was on Tuesday given 14 days by Parliament to hand over all communication and documents relating to his reinstatement for its own inquiry into the matter.

Mazzone told Fin24 that she reported the matter to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown’s office on Wednesday.

In response, it has emerged that Brown has asked Eskom chairperson Ben Ngubane to investigate the matter, her spokesperson Colin Cruywagen told Fin24 on Wednesday.

In addition, Eskom’s legal unit wrote to Mazzone, requesting a meeting to obtain more information, a letter seen by Fin24 reveals.

“The allegations levelled against Eskom are serious; however, lacking in detail,” Suzanne Daniels, head of legal at Eskom, wrote to Mazzone on Wednesday.

“Please can you provide us with information that is more detailed so that we may immediately investigate these serious allegations.

“We are willing to meet with you at a date and time, which is suitable to you to obtain the relevant information,” she wrote.

READ: Fraud cloud over Molefe's reappointment

Responding to the latest development, Mazzone told Fin24 that she maintains her previous position that Brown, as the minister who oversees the entity and under whose portfolio Eskom falls, “has the obligation to make sure all documents are safe and secured”.  

“I am happy to engage with the minister, but it is her job to engage with Eskom,” she said. “She also has an obligation to Parliament to immediately ensure that all documents relating to Molefe are secured and made ready for the parliamentary investigation.”

Mazzone has made it clear that she won’t reveal the source, nor will she report the matter to the police as they will require the source’s details.

“The DA wouldn’t make a call like that (revealing this allegation) without 100% trust and faith in our source,” she said. “It’s a sad day when people fear for the safety and that of their families that whistle blowers have to remain so completely anonymous.”

READ: Eskom welcomes back ‘Papa Action’ Molefe amid scramble to undo reappointment

Molefe returned to Eskom in May following the surprise revelation that he did not resign in November 2016, but was actually granted early retirement.

When Brown discovered in media reports that his pension payout was R30m, she ordered the board to reverse this. Their compromise, they said, was to bring him back as CEO. Molefe had been an ANC MP for three months and had to resign from this post.

After initially authorising his return, Brown has since placed the decision of Molefe’s future in the hands of the high court. She revealed this on Monday in a responding affidavit to the DA’s court challenge to reverse Molefe’s reappointment.

Besides the court case, the portfolio committee on public enterprises has decided to launch an official inquiry into the Molefe matter.

Mazzone said that this “information combined with the series of revelations over the last week only strengthen the DA’s call for an urgent and full-scale Parliamentary inquiry into what is actually going on at Eskom”.

“The sooner this inquiry begins, the better,” she said in a written statement. “There are documents and reports with copies – they can’t destroy certain things, as these documents exist elsewhere.”

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