Brain Molefe resigned as a Member of Parliament, so that he could return to his previous job at Eskom.

One thing you ought to remember about Molefe: He ain’t no stranger to controversy.

Brian Molefe’s announced return to Eskom as CEO is set to face a challenge, with the Congress of the People (Cope) threatening to physically stop him from entering Megawatt Park, the power utility’s headquarters in Johannesburg.

This comes after Eskom confirmed that Molefe will return as CEO at the power utility despite stepping down to “clear his name” in November last year in the wake of allegations of possible impropriety levelled against him in the public protector’s report into state capture.

The public protector’s report raised questions about Molefe’s proximity to members of the wealthy, politically connected Gupta family, and that the Eskom leadership had stretched procurement rules to give a multi-million rand coal contract to the Guptas’ Tegeta Exploration and Resources company.

Molefe said that he was excited to return to Eskom and urged workers to work tirelessly to ensure that there was electricity during the winter months.

via GIPHY

Molefe said, “We must continue with our nuclear programs to ensure that South Africa has electricity that meets growth.”

There was a bit of a dispute over whether he was entitled to a R30 million payment after he stepped down in November 2016.

What concerns South Africans, is what will be done differently this time?

Will Molefe improve and learn from his mistakes?

ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize says he feels rather “uncomfortable” with Molefe’s reappointment.

He also added: “We need to be very careful about decisions that might undermine the confidence our people have in us”.

Was the ANC informed about Brain’s reappointment?

“I wasn’t aware of Molefe’s move back to Eskom before it was announced and it was not discussed in any of the structures that I sit in,” said Zweli Mkhize.

The Democratic Alliance however has already filed papers to the Pretoria High Court, to ban Molefe’s reappointment.

Molefe’s return coincides with the decision of acting CEO Matshela Koko to go on leave. This after the legal firm appointed to probe a possible conflict of interest against him has asked for more time to complete its investigation.

Koko is the subject of an investigation into allegations that his step-daughter was a director of Impulse International when it was awarded several contracts worth around R1 billion by Eskom.

Molefe’s imminent return to Eskom sparked widespread outrage among political parties and civic organisations, which said the move reversed government’s commitment to fight corruption.

They called for Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown to dissolve the Eskom board.

Brown said she believed Molefe’s return to Eskom was a “better value proposition to the South African fiscus than the previous pension proposal” of a pension payout of R30 million.

Molefe applied for early retirement, despite resigning after only about 21 months as CEO, and was about to lay his hands on the windfall Eskom in April when Brown objected.

Brown has reportedly been summoned to African National Congress headquarters, Luthuli House, where she will be told to overturn the decision to reappoint Molefe or to dissolve the power utility’s board.

#Yakalandık #busted #scottishfold #cute #lovely #shocked #kedi #şirin #sevimli #cindy

A post shared by Onur Celik (@flashlight84) on

This very powerful cartoon says it all.

#BrianMolefe is back at work. #Mangenatoons #IOLPolitics #TheStarToon

A post shared by @mangenatoons on

Related Article:Brian Molefe return to Eskom a ‘joke’ – National Union of Mineworkers 

– Richelle Neethling

Categories: News