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Molefe’s pension fiasco to be heard in court

Johannesburg – A court will hear why the circumstances surrounding former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe’s early retirement pension pay-out and his subsequent reappointment as Eskom CEO, to remedy the situation, was unlawful.

The court case will kick off on Wednesday morning. Political parties and trade union Solidarity filed a consolidated court application to challenge Eskom’s decisions to reappoint Molefe as CEO, as well as the approval of his R30m pension pay-out.

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown also filed explanatory affidavits, but she is not challenging the relief sought by the applicants.

In the affidavit Brown said that a letter from former Eskom chairperson Dr Ben Ngubane, regarding Molefe’s retirement package, never reached her.

Solidarity’s Anton van der Bijl, head of the centre for fair labour practices, said that the trade union is demanding Molefe pay back all pension payments and benefits he was granted. Solidarity also wants the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to investigate the matter.

So far Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed to News24 that the Serious Economic Offences Unit is probing the allegations.

In a statement DA MP James Selfe said that Molefe’s reappointment was “irrational”. “It is clear that Molefe is not fit to restore good governance practices at the Eskom and he should have no further place there.”

Molefe was implicated in former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State Capture report released last year. He stepped down in the “interests of good governance”.

But earlier this year Molefe returned to Eskom, after Brown discovered he had been granted a R30m early pension pay-out by Eskom through a report in the Sunday Times. She asked the board to find another solution, which in turn decided to reappoint Molefe.

But this was not the end of Molefe’s trouble. Following an investigation into Molefe’s reinstatement by an inter-ministerial committee, consisting of Brown, Justice Minister Michael Masutha, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and former Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Brown announced that the board had to rescind the decision.

Molefe later challenged this decision when he filed labour court papers against the board and Brown.

Molefe has since testified in the Eskom Inquiry.

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