JOHANNESBURG – Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown says she is saddened by the resignation of Eskom CEO Brian Molefe but respects his decision.
Molefe announced his resignation effective 1 January on Friday afternoon but said it was not an admission of guilt.
In her state capture report, former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela found that Eskom had appeared to help the Gupta familytake over the Optimum coal mine and said she had proof that Molefe had been in regular contact with the Guptas.
Minister Brown says Molefe has been instrumental in developing Eskom’s turnaround strategy and it’s disappointing that he won’t be around to see it completed.
She says she will work closely with the Eskom board to ensure that the company remains stable but says that Molefe leaves a strong executive.
The Public Enterprises Minister says that during Molefe’s tenure, Eskom managed to connect almost 100,000 houses to the grid with overall revenue increasing.
Added to this, she says there have been 460 days with no load shedding.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance has announced it will be laying charges against Molefe in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Act.
