The African National Congress in Gauteng has reportedly called for embattled Eskom CEO Brian Molefe to be removed from his post following his shock reappointment to the helm of the power utility by its board earlier this month.
According to a report by EWN, the party’s provincial secretary, Hope Papo, said they agreed with the demand by the ANC’s national leaders that Molefe should vacate office.
Molefe left Eskom in November last year under a cloud of corruption allegations after the release of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report, which implicated him in improper conduct with the controversial Gupta family.
His return to Eskom, which the ANC has condemned as “unfortunate and reckless”, came on the back of a R30-million pension payout dispute that Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown turned down and opted, along with the board, to instead reappoint Molefe as CEO.
The board claims that Molefe did not resign last year but took early retirement.
“Brian should not be the CEO because he resigned to clear his name, the PEC [provincial executive committee] didn’t understand why,” Papo is quoted as saying,
He added Molefe’s reinstatement could set a bad precedent for state-owned entities.
“That kind of a decision is actually creating problems for staff and management of state-owned enterprises.”
The ANC has since said government is dealing with the controversy surrounding Molefe’s reappointment.
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