EFF CALL FOR IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION OF MARK LAMBERTI FROM ESKOM BOARD
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The EFF calls for the immediate resignation of Mark Lamberti from Eskom Board after the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng found him guilty of gender-based discrimination and racist attack as he humiliated, degraded and objectified Ms. Adila Chowan, a former employee of Imperial subsidiary, Associated Motor Holdings (AMH).
During a Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprise oversight meeting at Eskom, the EFF raised the matter of his racist and gender-based discriminatory conduct directly with Mr. Lamberti. He made a commitment that if the court find against him, he will resign with immediate effect. This was after the EFF raised the matter initially when Mr. Lamberti was appointed to the Eskom Board in January. Mr. Lamberti is not fit to hold any board position in our state-owned entities, particularly a position at Eskom Board that has seen turbulences due to unprincipled characters in the recent past.
Eskom claims to be committed to the highest standard of ethical conduct in all actions and decisions. In terms of Eskom Code of Ethics, “Eskom commits itself to upholding its values and ethical standards and demonstrating this to all its stakeholders.” Therefore, Eskom’s directors and employees are required to apply the Code of Ethics in their conduct. Mr. Lamberti does not meet the prescripts of Eskom Code of Ethics or high ethical standard required of people in such important public positions.
On Friday 30th March, the EFF wrote to the Minister of Public Enterprise, Chairperson of the Eskom Board and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprise to demand the immediate removal of Mr. Lamberti from the Board. We also wrote to Mr. Lamberti himself requesting him to step down as he had made a commitment to do so in the event that the court find against him.
The statement released on Tuesday morning by Imperial Holding, which maintains that there was no findings of race or gender discrimination against Imperial and Lamberti, is an attempt to downplay the severity of the court judgement. The EFF want to send a strong message to the Minister of Public Enterprise and Eskom Board that we will not tolerate racism and gender-based discrimination anywhere it rears its ugly head, particularly from sections of our society that have refused to transform.
Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 4 April 2018
