At the beginning of a committee meeting today, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Energy, Mr Fikile Majola, said it is important to address the events that transpired in a previous meeting, when the Department of Energy failed to appear for a scheduled meeting as a result of a miscommunication.

Mr Majola said the committee was disappointed and angry when the department did not make a presentation, as expected. “When we closed the meeting, we said we will ask the minister and officials to be here so that they explain what happened last week,” Mr Majola said.

The Minister of Energy, Mr Jeff Radebe, said it was well-known that he had been attending a Southern African Development Community meeting on that day and that the department had been misinformed by a departmental official that the committee meeting had been postponed.

“I apologise for what happened last week, Tuesday,” said Mr Radebe. He told the committee that the official concerned has been suspended and a letter of misconduct sent, as the official brought the ministry and the department into serious disrepute.
 
The committee accepted the apology. “We have never had a situation of this nature before. Hopefully, this will not happen in future and we acknowledge the apology from the ministry,” Mr Majola said.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Energy, Fikile Majola