Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has placed President Cyril Ramaphosa at the centre of an allegedly unjustifiable coal contract worth R1.4 billion awarded to Glencore in 2012. Molefe says Ramaphosa had a 9.4% stake in Optimum Mine which was later bought by Glencore.
Molefe says Ramaphosa chaired the board of Optimum mine just before chairing a de facto Eskom board in the office of the president during his tenure as deputy president in 2014.
Molefe is appearing before the State Capture Commission in Johannesburg. He says he managed to keep load shedding at bay for three years since 2015 until it returned following Ramaphosa’s presidency.
Brian Molefe says load shedding came back after Cyril Ramaphosa was appointed president:
“The deputy president of the country was the chairperson of the war room; he was in fact the de facto chairperson of the war room. The de facto chairperson of a de facto board that was outside the company. He was a de facto chairperson and had started playing this role directly from being the chairperson of Optimum. When the deal was done in 2012 or he was sold shares or he bought shares, he was made chairperson. 2014 he became deputy president and chairperson of the war room. One would have expected, corporate governance requires that there must be a cooling-off period,” says Molefe.
The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture hears Eskom related evidence from Brian Molefe:
Molefe allegedly at the centre of State Capture at Eskom
Molefe is alleged to have been at the centre of State Capture at the power utility. Earlier in 2020, the former boss lashed out at the commission through his legal team claiming the inquiry would prejudice him.
Molefe is also being sued by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) for his role in looting billions at the State-Owned Entity.
Molefe was seconded from Transnet to Eskom by former Eskom chairperson Ben Ngubane.
He is alleged to have abused his power at both Eskom and Transnet and enabled the Gupta’s to secure a vast amount of money through lucrative contracts.
The Public Protector also revealed through a phone record that Molefe was in the vicinity of the Gupta’s household more than 19 times. He denied these claims saying he was at a shabeen nearby. Molefe will have to explain himself to the commission and clear his name.
– Additional reporting by Amina Accram.
Brian Molefe’s opening statement at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture:
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