EFF statement on the appointment of Eskom Treasury General Manager

6 August 2020

The Economic Freedom Fighters has noted the appointment of Richard Vaughan as the new General Manager: Treasury for Eskom, effective from 15 May 2020. This is one of many perturbing appointments made by Eskom, which shows a concerted, systemic and systematic assault on black professionals at Eskom, and a determined effort to whiten Eskom as much and as quick as possible.

Vaughan's appointment makes little sense, and it would seem his only qualification is his skin colour, He has never managed a treasury portfolio before and was appointed a Chief Financial Officer at the Edcon group from 2016. We now all know what has happened to the Edcon group, Despite this, Eskom sees it fit to appoint a person of this nature to the position of Group Treasury of an important institution such as this, at a time when Eskom is facing serious challenges when it comes to its finances, What makes this appointment even more difficult to accept is the fact that Eskom deliberately excluded a very competent black person, who has acted in that position for almost eight months,

The position of General Manager: Treasury became vacant at the end of August in 2019, and was advertised in November of the same year, From the 1st of September 2019, Mr Mandla Maleka acted as Eskom's General Manager: Treasury, up until the end of April this year. When the position was advertised, Mr Maleka applied and was shortlisted and sat for an interview, in which one Maria Ramos sat.

The appointment was never made until the appointment of the new CEO, another white man, Andre de Ruyter, who had insisted that he wanted a say on the appointment of the new Group Treasury executive at Eskom. Despite not being part of the first interviews for the post, M d Ruyter conducted the second round of interviews, which excluded Mr Maleka. The interviewees were two white males, and tho. who conducted the interviews were once again, Maria Ramos, Andre de Ruyter, and the CFO at Eskom. Whites interviewed other whites for a position critical as this one, which had a black person acting competently for over eight months.

It seems odd that Eskom opted to appoint someone who has never managed a Treasury portfolio in their lives and excluded Mr Maleka, who had acted for eight months in the Group Treasurer position and has over 20 years Treasury experience. Mr Male. holds a Masters in Economics and an Advanced Executive Development certificate.

There is a determined agenda to capture and whiten Eskom. and at the driving seat of that agenda is Jamnandas, who hates black people with passion. He is joined in this agenda by Cyril Ramaphosa, who owes his unearned wealth to white people who funded him in order to capture critical institutions of the State.

We have sent Mr Gordhan a letter, demanding a comprehensive explanation of why was Mr Maleka not considered for the job. We also asked him why was Maria Ramos present at the interviews, and why in the second round of interviews, only two white males were considered.

We reject the irregular appointment of Richard Vaughan, and the assault on the dignity of black professionals at Eskom.

Richard Vaughn is an incompetent executive whose tenure in Edcon led to its bankruptcy and liquidation, but because he is white, he is parachuted into a senior position in Eskom against capable black candidates. The extermination of black executives and suppliers in Eskom seems to be the driving ideology since the arrival of Jamnandas and Ruyter.

We caution this new capturers' of state institutions that in the same way we fought against and collapsed the Gupta criminal syndicate, we will do everything in our power to collapse a white racist capitalist agenda that is in the process of hijacking state owned companies.

Issued by Vuyanl Pambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 6 August 2020