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Eskom’s Matshela Koko resigns but is still not in the clear

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 Former Eskom chief generation officer Matshela Koko.
Former Eskom chief generation officer Matshela Koko.

Embattled Eskom chief generation officer Matshela Koko might have blindsided the proceedings of day two of his disciplinary hearing initiated by Eskom when he handed over his resignation letter on Friday morning, but an ongoing investigation by the Hawks and a commission of inquiry setup by former president Jacob Zuma will still give him sleepless nights.

Koko’s legal team informed the hearing that their client’s resignation — sent via email to the group chief executive of Eskom on Friday morning — should bring the hearing to a close.

In the letter, which was read out at the hearing, Koko stated that he was resigning from the power utility and as a director at Eskom Rotek Industries without admitting to any guilt.

Eskom national spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said, “management and the board feel strongly about continuing with the disciplinary hearing”.

He said they had “a strong case on the charges that have been placed”. But a decision would be made after legal consultations.

“Besides, the Hawks are already carrying out their own investigations around the irregularities around Eskom and investigating Koko’s role. Also there is a commission of inquiry that was initiated by now former president Jacob Zuma so the resignation will not stop those investigations from going ahead,” said Phasiwe.

Natasha Mazzone, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for Public Enterprises, said the party welcomed the news, calling his resignation “long overdue”.

She went on to say that: “Koko’s resignation does not absolve him from wrongdoing.”

The disciplinary hearings held in Sandton came to an abrupt end with Advocate Nazeer Cassim, the hearing’s chair, saying that since Koko had stepped down there was no reason to continue with the inquiry.

Cassim said the goal of the hearing was to determine if there was merit to the charges against Koko and, if there were, whether he should be fired or not. Since Koko had resigned Cassim said, his [Koko’s] “employment relationship [with Eskom] has come to an end”.

The disciplinary hearings stem from accusations that Koko misled Parliament about payments made to consultancy firm Trillian and that he leaked confidential information to people associated with the Gupta family. It is also alleged that Koko awarded contracts worth more than R1 billion to his stepdaughter.

The embattled Eskom has been a revolving door for executives with chief financial officer Anoj Singh resigning, followed by chief information officer Sean Maritz who was acting chief executive and had his temporary suspension converted to a permanent suspension pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety.

There have been numerous chief executives in the recent past dating back from early 2000s during the days of Thulani Gcabashe, Jacob Maroga, Mpho Makwana, Brian Dames, Collin Matjila, Tshediso Matona, Brian Molefe, Matshela Koko, Sean Maritz, and now interim chief executive Phakamani Hadebe.

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