Parliament, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises tasked with the inquiry into the mismanagement of state funds in state-owned enterprises, heard evidence from former Eskom Board Chairperson, Dr Ben Ngubane.
Dr Ngubane presented evidence before the committee on numerous issues. Some of the issues that the committee questioned were the pre-purchase of coal from Optimum Mine. Dr Ngubane was also questioned on former CEO Brian Molefe’s resignation, the suspension of the four executives and his relationship with the Gupta family and corporate governance issues during his time as the board chairperson at the power utility.
In a statement that he submitted, Dr Ngubane informed the committee that it was indicated that with regard to the funding of the pre-purchase of coal, Eskom was going to achieve a value benefit of R238.9m. The motivation by management further indicated that the proceeds of the R1.86bn pre-payment of coal were to be used by Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) to extinguish existing liabilities to ensure that the business continued as a going concern. The shutdown of OCM would potentially result in thousands of job losses.
The committee, however, said it was not happy or impressed by how Dr Ngubane responded to the questions he was asked. The committee was of the view that Dr Ngubane refused to take responsibility for the collapse of corporate governance at Eskom.
The committee noted with concern the inconsistencies of Dr Ngubane’s answers in comparison with evidence provided by people who had previously appeared before the committee.
The Chairperson of the Inquiry, Ms Zukiswa Rantho, said what is concerning is how Dr Ngubane responded to the questions by saying the Commission into State Capture has been established to address some of the issues the committee members asked.
Ms Rantho questioned him: “If you are saying you’re waiting for the Commission, are you saying the documents that we have are wrong? Our questions are based on documents we received from Eskom and evidence from people who appeared before the Inquiry,” she said.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE INQUIRY FOR THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, MS ZUKISWA RANTHO.
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