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The Saxonwold shebeen’s most prominent visitor has the world as his oyster. Well, sort of.
New ANC member of Parliament Brian Molefe attended a meeting of the portfolio committee on international relations and cooperation on Tuesday.
When it came to light on February 17 that the former chief executive of Eskom was being deployed to Parliament, speculation started that he would be given a place in the committee on finance, especially after fiery ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza was shifted off the committee.
It was rumoured that Molefe would serve on the committee as a launching pad so that he could be deployed by President Jacob Zuma as minister or deputy minister of finance.
Molefe told Business Day last week that he would serve on two committees – international relations and economic development, though the ANC remained mum about his deployment.
Come Wednesday morning, Molefe reported for duty at the international relations committee.
He didn’t say much while the committee was discussing the court case that the government lost after deciding to withdraw from the International Criminal Court without Parliament’s input on the matter.
“We have noted that the court ruled in favour of the DA in this matter.
“The executive welcomed it [the verdict] and is already working to comply,” said Molefe at the end of the meeting.
He echoed other members of the committee, who said that the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Minister of Justice Michael Masutha should address the committee.
Molefe was mired in controversy last year when former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela bound him to the Guptas in her state capture report
One of the Gupta businesses, in which President Zuma’s son Duduzane is also a shareholder, received a contentious coal contract with Eskom.
Madonsela found that Molefe was regularly in the Saxonwold area, the Johannesburg suburb where the Guptas lived.
During a press conference, at which he burst into tears, Molefe implied that he had been visiting a shebeen in the area, not visiting the Gupta family. The shebeen was never found.
Shortly afterwards, Molefe resigned from Eskom.
This story was amended since it was first published. In the
original story we said Brian Molefe “said he had been visiting a shebeen in the
area”, whereas this is not entirely correct. Mr Molefe never stated this as a
fact, but instead merely implied that he may have been visiting a shebeen in
the area. We apologise for any unnecessary embarrassment caused.
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