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Cape Town - The South African Communist Party (SACP) is calling for investigations by the Hawks and all relevant financial services and pension authorities into the R30m pension pay-out to former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe.
The SACP says it believes the "inflation" of Molefe's pension was an "act of corruption and looting" of workers and public resources. It wants all involved to be held accountable.
Molefe announced in November 2016 that he is resigning from Eskom “in the interests of good corporate governance”. This was after former public protector Thuli Madonsela mentioned him in her State of Capture report.
Madonsela mentioned, for instance, that Molefe phoned Ajay Gupta 44 times; visited the Saxonwold area (where they stay) 19 times and was in regular contact with Atul, Tony and other Gupta employees during the time of the Glencore Optimum coal issue.
READ: Brian Molefe is no longer the CE of Eskom
After he "resigned" from Eskom, Molefe became a Member of Parliament, only to have the Eskom board rescind his application for early retirement a few months later after Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown objected to a R30m pension pay-out to him. His interim absence was now called “unpaid leave”.
Investigative unit Scorpio has now revealed - based on leaked documents - that, although the 49-year old Molefe was employed for 15 months at Eskom, his pension cost was calculated as if he had worked there until the age of 63 (or for 156 months).
On top of that, although Molefe was appointed on a five year fixed contract, his pension was calculated as if he had a 10-year service record at Eskom.
Because Molefe was treated as if he was retrenched, Scorpio claims this gave him immediate access to a third of his pension money. The investigation unit, however, pointed out that Molefe was never eligible to be a member of the Eskom Provident and Pension Fund.
Eskom also paid Molefe what it called a performance bonus of about R97 000 and gave him an annual raise, which was backdated from April 2015.
Molefe told Scorpio that he merely made a mistake to think he could go on early retirement at the age of 50. He also claimed that Eskom and the Pension Fund made a mistake.
According to the Daily Maverick, Eskom, the Pension Fund and Brown declined to comment on Scorpio’s questions, saying the matter is “sub judice” and part of court proceedings.
Brown said on Tuesday that she has been reliant on the Eskom's board and management for accurate information regarding the various issues at the state-owned entity. However, "I have recently had reason to question the veracity of some of the answers I have been given," she said.
Eskom will be announcing its annual integrated results on Wednesday, where the media will engage with the board and management.
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