Hawks probing Brian Molefe's R30m pension payout claims
Trade Union Solidarity announced on Thursday that it would launch legal proceedings to force former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe to repay the "unlawful" R30-million pension payout he received.
"Unlawful actions must bear consequences. An apology and even pay back [from Molefe], is not enough," Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann told reporters at a press briefing in Pretoria.
The trade union's legal battle is expected to take place in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on November 29.
Probe by NPA
Solidarity has asked the court to order that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigate the matter.
The NPA said in papers that the office of the Hawks is probing those involved in the alleged pension fund saga.
"We can confirm that the Serious Economic Offences Unit is probing the allegations," Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
"No further comments will be made pending the investigations," he said.
Earlier this year, the union filed an affidavit in which it asked the court to overturn Eskom’s decision to reappoint Molefe as CEO, as well as the approval of the payout.
Hermann said Solidarity believed there was a prima facie case against those who made the pension award decision.
Calling for prosecution
"We are of the opinion that there were several unlawful misrepresentations that justify prosecution. The base of the argument is the misrepresentation by Molefe and the Board of Eskom that he complied with the rules and that he was a permanent employee.
"They knew it was false, yet the unlawful actions were proceeded with," Hermann said.
Hermann added that Molefe should not be permitted to occupy any position where he will handle public funds and that he should stop working for the SA Defence Force. Molefe was appointed both as a reserve force member and an honorary colonel of one of the reserve force regiments.
He said two legal opinions from the pension fund found that the payments were "unlawful".
The Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters has also challenged Eskom’s decisions via a consolidated court application.
On February 23, Molefe was sworn in as member of Parliament.
In May, he was reappointed as the CEO of Eskom.
However, his time away was viewed as unpaid leave and he was dismissed again.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation