Share

Ngubane’s resignation won’t exonerate him - DA

Cape Town – The resignation of Ben Ngubane as Eskom chairperson will not exonerate him from an Eskom Parliamentary inquiry, the Democratic Party (DA) said late on Monday evening.

DA public enterprises spokesperson Natasha Mazzone told Fin24 that “Ngubane’s resignation will not exonerate him from liability for the breakdown of governance at the power utility".

She said the DA will use the Parliamentary inquiry into Eskom starting on 21 June "to hold Ngubane to account”.

Late on Monday, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown announced that Ngubane "formally tendered his resignation", which she accepted.

The announcement followed a tweet by Save South Africa member Chris Vick, which claimed Ngubane was "packing his bags".

In response to the late-night announcement, Mazzone said the DA finds "the clandestine hour of Ngubane’s resignation announcement to be highly suspicious".

The clarity on his resignation is key, as former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe announced he had "stepped down" in November 2016. Everyone, including Brown, thought he had resigned, when in fact he had requested early retired. His R30m early pension payout is now a matter of a labour court dispute, after his reinstatement as CEO was rescinded.

Ngubane has been named twice so far in the GuptaLeaks saga. Once due to a failed bid to secure a lucrative oil concession in the Central African Republic (CAR) as well as in the revelations about the capture of Eskom.

“I would like to thank Dr Ngubane for his contribution to turning Eskom around since the load shedding days of 2014/15, and wish him well in the future," said Brown.

“To ensure continuity at Eskom, I have decided to appoint Mr Zethembe Khoza as interim chairperson until I am able to take new board appointments to Cabinet for approval.”

Khoza, who is an Eskom board member, was previously asked to step in as acting CEO in 2015, when Tshediso Matona was suspended. Molefe was then seconded from Transnet, before being made CEO. He resigned in 2016, following the Public Protector's State of Capture report. 

Eskom’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place later this month.

What Ngubane has to answer for - DA

Mazzone said Ngubane’s resignation was “hot on the heels of damning revelations of the capture of Eskom leadership by the Guptas and the breakdown of corporate governance at Eskom”.
 
She said that Ngubane, “who presided over the retrenchment/retirement/rehire of Brian Molefe as Eskom CEO has much to answer for, not least of which includes Molefe’s R30m ‘golden handshake’ deal and an avalanche of accusations that the Guptas have milked Eskom over many years”.
 
She pointed to former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi’s accusation that Molefe and Ngubane “tried to strong-arm him to withdraw Glencore’s Optimum mining licences in order to guarantee that the Guptas takeover Glencore’s coal mines is yet to be probed”.
 
Additionally, she pointed to former acting Eskom CEO Matshela Koko’s R1bn “nepotism scandal, which occurred on Ngubane’s watch”, which she said is yet to be fully probed too.
 
“Ngubane has also recently been implicated in falsifying documents in a liquidation case,” she said.

Reactions on Twitter included the following:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.92
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.42
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders