Molefe eases into new life on only R80k

26 February 2017 - 02:00 By BABALO NDENZE
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ANC members welcome former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe in the National Assembly after he was sworn in as an MP this week. He will have the use of a free house in Cape Town, if he wants it.
ANC members welcome former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe in the National Assembly after he was sworn in as an MP this week. He will have the use of a free house in Cape Town, if he wants it.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER

Newly appointed ANC MP Brian Molefe has already been allocated a state-sponsored house at the Laboria Park parliamentary village in Belhar, Cape Town, as he begins an orientation week for his new job.

Molefe is due to spend his first few days as an MP attending to administrative and logistical matters as he acquaints himself with the workings of parliament and adjusts to life in Cape Town, where most MPs travel to work by bus.

He was sworn in on Thursday in the private office of National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete. Present at the low-profile ceremony were Mbete, veteran ANC MP Mnyamezeli Booi and parliament's official photographer.

In the next few weeks Molefe will learn the ropes about parliamentary protocol, among other things.

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A fellow ANC MP, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said Molefe was adjusting to life in Cape Town.

"He is just arriving. He must first sort himself out administratively," the senior MP said.

"Whatever you've done with your life, parliament provides you with a house. He's going to be situated in Laboria [Park]. He's going to be part of the parliamentary village."

Molefe was not available for comment at the time of going to press.

A deeds search shows that Molefe owns a property in Plettenberg Bay's Castleton estate on the Garden Route.

Laboria Park is in the north of Cape Town, in the vicinity of the campuses of the University of the Western Cape and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

It is one of three villages scattered around Cape Town, offering a total of 700 homes for MPs and their families. Each village has 24-hour police security.

The MP said the fact that Molefe was joining parliament as a backbencher, after occupying high-paying jobs, was immaterial.

Molefe earned more than R700,000 a month as Eskom CEO - a job he quit last year after being named in the State of Capture report by former public protector Thuli Madonsela - but his salary will shrink to a still-generous R80,000-plus as an ordinary MP.

He is due to find out tomorrow which portfolio committee he'll be assigned to.

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It has been widely speculated that he will be deployed to the standing committee on finance before joining President Jacob Zuma's cabinet.

Moloto Mothapo, spokesman for parliament, confirmed details of Molefe's orientation.

"This will include the involvement of various divisions of the institution offering support such as accommodation, induction and general member support.

"He will be provided, like any other MP, with accommodation at any of the villages," said Mothapo.

He said an MP did not have to stay in one of the three villages if they did not want to.

Another MP said it had been decided not to swear Molefe in on Wednesday because it would have diverted attention from Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's budget speech.

Lindiwe Zulu, minister of small business development, said on social media this week that "change must happen", sparking speculation that she was backing Molefe to replace Gordhan.

But Zulu said on Friday the change she was referring to had nothing to do with Molefe.

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