Matona saw his suspension as Eskom CEO coming, Zondo hears

Resuming to hear evidence from former chief executive officer at Eskom Tshediso Matona, the commission of inquiry into state capture heard how Matona was unceremoniously suspended from Eskom on 11 March 2015 after a board meeting where he was allegedly asked to recuse himself, following a questionable decision to suspend him.

Reasons for his suspension were that the board had resolved to launch an inquiry into the affairs within Eskom with the view that Matona and other executives could not be part of the probe which would be launched into the problems faced by the power utility.

Though it was largely highlighted that Matona was not accused of any wrongdoing, he told the commission how he could see that the board at the time were leaning towards suspending him. This was due to how events unfolded, which included no response to his plea to rethink the decision for his suspension pending an investigation into Eskom.

The board was appointed in December 2014 with Zola Tsotsi as chairperson, alongside a few members of the board which included Ben Ngubane, Vanet Klain, and Romeo Khumalo, among others.

The commission heard how insufficient information was provided for the inquiry into the reported issues at the power utility at the time.

The experienced economist, although described as a candidate with a wealth of experience when he joined the utility, left in March 2015 following a more than two-decade-long service to government.

He was replaced by Brian Molefe, who also left Eskom under a cloud of corruption later in 2016 when he was implicated in irregular dealings with the Gupta family’s Tegeta Exploration.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.