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Cape Town – “I am a loyal member of the ANC and I subject myself to the wisdom of the party leadership.”
This is how Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown responded to a request to comment on the ANC’s statement that representations by Eskom and herself in Parliament on Tuesday about the reinstatement of Brian Molefe as Eskom CEO are disingenuous and "amount to perjury".
“I have not lied to Parliament,” Brown said, adding that she stated her case in an affidavit to court.
READ: Letter reveals Brown knew about Molefe's early retirement deal
Brown held a media briefing on Thursday morning ahead of the Department of Public Enterprises’ budget vote later in the afternoon.
She was asked to elaborate on Eskom and the controversial reappointment of Molefe that was the subject of fierce interrogation in Parliament earlier in the week.
Brown and Eskom board chairperson Ben Ngubane appeared before Parliament’s public enterprises committee where they were subjected to a grilling from MPs, most notably former finance minister Pravin Gordhan who was recently appointed as an ANC representative to the committee.
In an affidavit filed on Monday, Brown explained that she had no part in Eskom’s decision to reappoint Eskom CEO Molefe as chief executive officer at Eskom, and only worked in the best interests of the country.
READ: Brown opens up on how Eskom kept her in the dark
She further said when Molefe submitted his resignation on November 11, 2016, she viewed it as a resignation and was not aware of the fact that he had in fact applied for early retirement, and that Eskom had on the same date accepted the application.
Responding to another question about the matter, Brown said she has not thought to ask Molefe and Eskom board chairperson Ben Ngubane to step aside amid allegations of impropriety.
Brown was also pressed about allegations that Eskom was destroying crucial documents and correspondence that relate to Molefe’s reinstatement.
Democratic Alliance MP Natasha Mazzone on Wednesday claimed in a statement that her party has it on good authority that the power utility was destroying such documents after being requested by Parliament.
READ: Eskom to investigate if Molefe documents were destroyed
Mazzone told Fin24 that she reported the matter to Brown’s office, but Brown said she had no knowledge of the reported incident and that she only read about it in the media.
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