Molefe 'helped Guptas' hijack coal mine, says Ngoako Ramatlhodi
Ramatlhodi told amaBhungane that he was pressured to effectively blackmail Glencore‚ owner of the Optimum coal mine which supplied coal to Eskom’s Hendrina power station
South Africa’s former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi has accused Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe and chairman Ben Ngubane of helping the Gupta family “hijack” a coal mine. The explosive allegations were revealed on Tuesday by the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and published by Eyewitness News. The allegations surface a day after Molefe resumed his job as CEO of the electricity utility after a dispute over his multi-million rand “golden handshake”. Ramatlhodi told amaBhungane that he was pressured to effectively blackmail Glencore‚ owner of the Optimum coal mine which supplied coal to Eskom’s Hendrina power station. Optimum was placed under business rescue after Molefe reportedly refused to renegotiate a coal supply contract and imposed a R2 billion penalty against the company. South Africa was experiencing load-shedding at the time. Ramatlhodi said he resisted pressure to suspend the company’s mining licences and was soon afterwards removed as mini...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.