DA files urgent Molefe application at High Court

15 May 2017

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today filed an urgent two-part application with the North Gauteng High Court which has been served on Mr Molefe.

The first part of our urgent application seeks to interdict Brian Molefe from performing any duties or functions as Group Chief Executive at Eskom as well as to prevent him from receiving any benefits associated with the position.

The second part requests that the court review and set aside the reappointment of Mr Molefe as CEO of Eskom as we believe this reappointment to be irrational.

The fact that the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, attempts to justify this ludicrous decision by claiming that it “represents a significantly better value proposition” to paying out the obscene and possibly illegal R30 million pension benefit, simply does not hold water.

It is common cause that Mr Molefe is deeply and fundamentally connected to the Gupta family, the chief suspects in the capture of state institutions and enterprises for their own personal benefit.

Mr Molefe was forced into contriving, on live television, one of the most bizarre and outlandish explanations for his frequent visits to Saxonwold, where the Gupta compound is located; the notorious ‘Saxonwold-shebeen’ defence.

Mr Molefe may well not have been found guilty in a court yet, but the Public Protector’s findings against him are binding and have not been overturned.

Mr Molefe, therefore, remains thoroughly implicated in the dodgy Tegeta and Optimum Coal contracts which benefitted the Guptas directly. He is therefore not fit to head up any state-owned enterprise, let alone one responsible for driving economic growth through energy security.

We believe that the unprecedented recycling of such a compromised individual, by the ANC, most certainly warrants intervention by the court.

If all goes well, we expect the matter to be on the court roll in the next two weeks and look forward to presenting our arguments.

Issued by James Selfe, Federal Executive Chairperson, 15 May 2017