This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
Fin24 reports that former Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba overruled the Eskom board's appointment of an acting CEO in 2014 because the candidate was white and it was a general election year
This was said by the power utility's former chairperson Zola Tsotsi on Thursday. He was testifying at the commission of inquiry into state capture, which since August 2018 has been investigating allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud at state enterprises. According to Tsotsi, Gigaba reversed the board's decision to appoint former Group Executive (Sustainability), Steve Lennon, as acting CEO in early 2014, following the resignation of Brian Dames. Instead, he insisted on the appointment of Collin Matjila, whom Tsotsi said ended up signing off on a questionable sponsorship deal. The former chairperson said that, after Dames left in 2014, he got a call from Gigaba, who was quite "irate". Gigaba, said Tsotsi, lambasted the Eskom board for requesting that a white person act as CEO of Eskom when the ANC was facing a general election. Later Gigaba informed the board that their fellow board member, Collin Matjila, should be appointed as acting CEO. At the time the minister (Gigaba) had the final say on the appointment of an acting CEO at the power utility. Tsotsi’s testimony on Thursday appeared to contradict what he said publicly in 2014 when Matjila's appointment was announced. At the time, he said that the appointment of Matjila was a "unanimous decision by the board”, based on his deep knowledge of and experience in the electricity industry.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lameez Omarjee at Fin24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page