Gigaba lambasted then Eskom board for requesting that a ‘white man’ should act as CEO – Tsotsi

The former minister of public enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, allegedly lambasted the Eskom board in 2014 for requesting that a white man should take up the position of chief executive (CE) at the power utility on an acting basis.

This is according to former Eskom board chairperson Zola Tsotsi, who on Wednesday took the witness stand at the commission of inquiry into state capture to give testimony relating to the three contracts the state-owned enterprise (SOE) entered into with the now-defunct Gupta-owned The New Age (TNA) newspaper.

Tsotsi said his tenure as chair of the Eskom board had been relatively smooth until Collin Matjila was appointed acting CE after Brian Dames left the position in 2014.

Tsotsi said the board at the time had taken the view that none of its members should take up the CE position on an acting basis after Dames’ departure and that one of Eskom’s executives should be approached and asked to assume the position on an acting basis until the appointment of a full-time CE.

The executive that was approached was Steve Lennon, Tsotsi said, explaining that Lennon was approached because of his extensive experience and because he had said that he would not vie for the CE position, which meant those who would gun for it would not be prejudiced.

Tsotsi said the board then instructed him to get Gigaba’s consensus, which he did at a meeting with the former minister around December 2013.

Tsotsi told the chairperson of the commission, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that Lennon agreed to take up the position of CE on an acting basis and that he had been asked to look at the SOE’s strategic position to formulate a plan to move the entity forward.

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“His manner was very surprising,” Tsotsi said, adding that he, however, managed to calm Gigaba down.

Tsotsi said during the conversation Gigaba allegedly lambasted him and the board for requesting that a white man should act as Eskom’s CE “when the ANC was heading into elections and this would prejudice” the party and lead to it failing to attract support at the polls.

“I said in response to him I don’t think we should be discussing this, certainly not over the phone,” Tsotsi said, adding that he made it clear to Gigaba that he, Tsotsi, thought the former minister had been asked to raise this issue and it had not come from him, Gigaba.

“And I said this is not you … someone has put you up to this,” Tsotsi said.

Tsotsi said at a later date that Gigaba then asked him to inform the board that the former minister wanted Matjila to take up the CE position on an acting basis.

“So I went back to the board and I informed the board and the board was unhappy because this flew in the decision that we had made that none of as board members should be eligible to act in the position of chief executive,” Tsotsi said. Matjila was a board member at the time.

Tsotsi told Zondo that Gigaba did not give an explanation as to why he had changed his mind on Lennon.

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