In his new book, Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, from Random House Publishers, the former CEO takes the reader inside the boardrooms and government meetings, revealing the inner workings of the state-owned enterprise.
The 12th of December 2022 was destined to be the day that would bring matters to the boil. As I did my morning exercises, I knew of one pivotal moment, little knowing that there would be many more that day.
Before he could even launch into the performance review, I interrupted him, ‘Chair, I think the discussion may be rendered redundant by this’, and I slid a letter across the table to him. With the chain of command being bypassed, I was having to handle increasing frustrations from exco members, even as I myself was bypassed and excluded. Professor Malegapuru Makgoba had been a diligent chairman, dedicating Thursdays to signing documents.
I had made no such promise, and in fact had not even heard from the SSA that they wanted to vet me. Only in October, with the arrival of the new board, was vetting put on the agenda of the first board meeting and I was sent the Z204 form to complete. Of course, with its customary alacrity, SCOPA jumped on the bandwagon and expressed its alarm that unvetted executives were in charge of Eskom.
The only conclusion is that profit-sharing by criminal and corrupt elements has become so normalised that it is self-evident: it is no longer questioned, and it has to be incorporated in plans. Without largesse being dispensed to the comrades, plans will fail, sometimes by being deliberately undermined. Now, I am not naive: I understand that in every society there is a certain level of corruption. Whether in the US, France, Germany or the UK, corruption seems to be a ubiquitous phenomenon.
In the vacant office of the Eskom chairman, I told Gordhan and Mufamadi what the investigators had unearthed, but paused before dropping the biggest bombshell – the fact that two high-ranking politicians had been implicated.The minister indicated that I should go ahead.Gordhan looked over at Mufamadi and said, ‘Well, I guess it was inevitable that it would come out.
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