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The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wishes to express its dismay and serious concern on the senseless and regressive move by EXXARO in its decision to reduce its black ownership from 50% to 30% at the time when whites continue to be the main beneficiaries of this country’s economy, and when transformational agenda is undermined by white monopoly capital.

After carefully studying the article containing the decision by EXXARO Resources shareholders as reported by the Business Day on 03 January 2017 titled "Row between acting Eskom Chief Matshela Koko and Exxaro heats up". What is even more disturbing are the alleged reckless utterances made by Mzila Mthenjane who is the company’s Executive Head of Stakeholder Accountability in stating that, “with its replacement of Black shareholding structure, EXXARO would continue to be the largest black-owned JSE-listed entity and the largest black-owned supplier to Eskom”. 

We welcome and support Eskom’s position in challenging this madness by EXXARO shareholders and as well as its executives. We further demand that Eskom must apply strict measures in ensuring that EXXARO complies or faces isolation from dealing with Eskom.

Whilst appreciating the commitment shown by the Eskom Acting CE in dealing with EXXARO’s intransigence, we are seriously concerned with reports we learned from the article published by New Age on Monday 09 January 2017 titled "BEE partner fears for her life". The article carried a story of a Black female BEE Partner described as Thabitha Sibanyoni who was allegedly kidnapped and nearly killed by her white male partner identified as “Petrus Francois Cilliers”. The allegations of him having managed to get money that was meant to be a payment for the deal they both had with Eskom transferred to his personal account for a period of approximately three years whilst the company’s turnover stands at R18 million per annum are serious enough to warrant forensic investigation and an immediate stop in dealing with this company.

The extent to which this Francois has been fraudulently receiving payments from Eskom under the pretext of being a BEE partner must be fully investigated and appropriate measures including conviction and recovery of all monies received fraudulently executed. Eskom must further investigate the possibility of internal collaboration between certain individuals in Eskom with Francois Cilliers as it is highly improbable that he could have managed to commit this alleged fraud without an accomplice within Eskom.

We are concerned that Eskom is continuously wasting money on shabby BEE deals benefitting individuals whilst there are always no funds to correct apartheid wage gap through income differential exercise. After almost 23 years in democracy, Eskom is still failing to redress the imbalances of the past and continue to discriminate blacks and Africans in particular, whilst women and people with disability are the worst victims of this regressive employer.

Issued by NUM