Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe was sworn in as a member of parliament for the ANC on Thursday morning.
He was controversially nominated to take up an MP seat by the party in the North West province, prompting speculation that President Jacob Zuma intends appointing him to his cabinet, possibly replacing finance minister Pravin Gordhan or his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas.
As CEO of Eskom, Molefe has repeatedly endorsed a plan, backed by Zuma, to build a fleet of nuclear power stations in South Africa.
Democratic Alliance MP and shadow finance minister David Maynier slammed Molefe’s appointment as an MP, describing the move as a “major escalation in the civil war within the ruling party and the battle for control of national treasury, being driven by … Zuma”.
“We cannot be sure, but it will presumably not be long before Molefe is appointed to the finance committee to serve time before being appointed as the deputy minister of finance with a view to controlling the R1,8 trillion managed by the Public Investment Corp (PIC),” Maynier said.
“The fact is that appointing Molefe to any position in the ‘finance family’ presents a clear and present danger to the institutional independence of national treasury and will be bad for South Africa,” he added.
“The Guptas will be delighted because, if the [public protector’s] State of Capture report is anything to go by, and Molefe is eventually appointed to a position in the ‘finance family’, they will finally have national treasury, the PIC and South African Airways on ‘speed dial’.” — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media