Brian Molefe

Brian Molefe is a South African businessman, and former political activist.

Molefe was appointed as the CEO of Transnet in February 2011,[1] and as the CEO of Eskom in April 2015.[2]

In November 2016 he left Eskom after being implicated in Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's state capture report.

The Public Protector report did not have any findings of wrongdoing by Molefe however, it was alleged that Molefe and Ajay Gupta, the eldest of the Gupta brothers, had made 58 telephone calls to one another between August 2015 and March 2016. Due to public pressure following the public protector report, Molefe resigned from Eskom. On resigning, Molefe became further embroiled in controversy when he was illegally awarded a large pension fund payout by the Eskom pension fund.

He previously also led the Public Investment Corporation.

During his tenure as the CEO on the Public Investments Corporation from 2003 to 2008, he oversaw a growth in assets under management from R300bn to R900bn. He introduced shareholder activism at the PIC and advocated for the transformation of the South African Corporate sector to be more inclusive and representative of indigenous South Africans who had suffered under the policy of apartheid.

He has also held the position of Deputy Director General at the National Treasury responsible for Assets and Liabilities Management. In this position, he was responsible for, amongst others, the management of sovereign debt. He oversaw a fundamental restructuring of South Africa’s domestic and foreign debt portfolio between 2000 and 2003.

In January 2017 Molefe was sworn in as a member of Parliament.[3]

He resigned from the legislature in May 2017 to deal with the allegations of his pension payout.

Molefe is a Colonel in the South African Army Reserves. He has previously served as Honorary Colonel in the then South African Irish Regiment. The name of the regiment has since been changed to the Andrew Mlangeni Infantry Regiment of the South African Army. The regiment is part of the Reserve Force.

Controversy

Due to numerous irregularities during Molefe’s time at the helm of State Owned Enterprises Eskom and Transnet, as well as his known close relationship with the controversial Gupta Family, Molefe has been implicated in state capture at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry and stands accused of corruption, money-laundering and racketeering.[4][5][6]

The Gauteng North High Court ordered Molefe to repay an amount of R10.3m, which he was not entitled to as per a retirement agreement. He unsuccessfully appealed this ruling to the SCA and the Constitutional Court. After the Constitutional Court bid had failed, the Eskom Pension Fund launched a court application in which it sought to have the R10.3m judgment enforced. Transnet seeks near R80 million against Molefe in a lawsuit due to 'dubious dealings and malfeasance connected to state capture'.[7]

He is currently under investigation by The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).[8]

On 3 August 2020 Eskom and the SIU (Special Investigating Unit) issued summons against Brian Molefe and the controversial Gupta brothers in a bid to reclaim R3.8 Billion in which Molefe is implicated.[9] Eskom suffered the aforementioned damages due to funds being illegally redirected from Eskom to Gupta family entities. A total of seven charges are brought against Molefe.[10]

Educational qualifications
  • University of South Africa (South Africa) – Bachelor of Commerce
  • University of London (United Kingdom) – Postgraduate Diploma – Economics
  • University of South Africa (South Africa)- Masters – Business Leadership
  • Harvard Business School (Boston, United States of America – Completed 2006) – Advanced Management Program

Awards
  • Institutional Investor for the year (2008) – Awarded by Africa Investor Investments Awards
  • Empowerment Leadership Award (2007) – Awarded by Wits Business School/Barloworld Empowerment Awards
  • Newsmaker of the year (2006) – Awarded by Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals
  • Investment specialist of the year (2004) – Awarded by Black Business Quarterly
  • Financial services achiever of the year (2003) – Awarded by the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals
Preceded by
 Chief Executive Officer of Public Investment Corporation
2003-2010		 Succeeded by
Masilela. E.
Preceded by
Ramos, M.		 Chief Executive Officer of Transnet
2011-2016		 Succeeded by
Gama, S.
Preceded by
Matona, T		 Chief Executive Officer of Eskom
2015-2016		 Succeeded by
Hadebe, P.

References
  1. "Brian Molefe new Transnet CEO". sanews.gov.za. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  2. "Why Molefe was chosen to lead Eskom". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  3. Koyana, Xolani. "No warm welcome for Brian Molefe in Parliament". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  4. "Here's why Brian Molefe could begin the new year behind bars". Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  5. "Brian Molefe on Eskom and Transnet investigations: "This whole thing is unfair"". thesouthafrican.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  6. "Brian Molefe played big role in Transnet's capture, Zondo commission hears". iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  7. "End of the road for Brian Molefe in pension saga". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  8. "Molefe among Eskom, Transnet executives facing arrest in January". citizen.co.za. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  9. "Eskom, SIU gun for former execs Molefe, Koko and Singh to recoup billions allegedly funnelled to Guptas". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  10. https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/authors/ernest-mabuza. "Gupta brothers contest damages claim by SIU, Eskom to recoup R3.8bn". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
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