'Two years at Tutuka were hell': former power station GM details threats to his life

Sello Mametja, the former general manager of Eskom’s Tutuka power station, gave a chilling account of how his life was under threat during his two years at the helm of the Mpumalanga station.

“The two years I spent at the power station were hell. It is something that I never bargained for when I accepted the offer to be the general manager,” he said.

“Theft, fraud, corruption and sabotage do exist at Tutuka — I have lived through it.”

Mametja confirmed to parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) that his life was under threat as he sought to clean up corruption and sabotage at the station.

Before his departure, former Eskom boss Andre de Ruyter repeatedly told the story of a power station manager who was forced to wear a bulletproof vest at work and walked around with bodyguards after exposing corruption at the plant. This was evidence of the huge challenge of combating internal crime syndicates contributing to the country's power crisis, he said at the time.

“That I can confirm. That it’s a journey I have travelled here at Eskom, particularly at Tutuka where I had to deal with theft, fraud, corruption and sabotage, and when I confronted them, I ended up in a situation where my safety and that of my family was at risk,” Mametja told Scopa this week.

Mametja started at Tutuka in February 2021, having previously worked at the Majuba, Kendal and Komati power stations.

He said he found the utility had been neglected and the plant’s condition had deteriorated, hence its poor performance.

The energy availability factor was on a downward trajectory, hovering around 39%-40% but moving downward with only two units running, the second having just been brought back into service.

Housekeeping was also in a terrible state, said Mametja, citing risks of fire and even explosions in battery rooms and switchgear rooms because of coal dust and ash that had built up on top of equipment. This was proven months later, he said, when several explosions of motors and switchgear occurred. They were catching fire.

Inspections of fire equipment were long overdue, with equipment buried in ash and the entire perimeter of the power station — a national key point — not secure. “This in terms of access control. Anybody could go in and out as they pleased. Later I realised that we lost a lot of spares in that manner. The entire fence had big holes and in certain areas access was available from any point.”

Mametja said work that was being done at the plant was corrective, there was no preventive maintenance being carried out. “We waited for something to fail and then addressed it.”

My coming here, I was hoping there would be no cameras. After this, I have to watch my back.

—  Sello Mametja, former general manager of Tutuka power station, to Scopa members

This was around the time of Covid-19 restrictions, and to his shock, maintenance personnel were working from home like the rest of the staff.

“I had to confront that. The personnel were not happy with me. I gave them an ultimatum: it’s a Friday, come Monday you are here, otherwise you are Awol.”

He said trade unions were not happy with him and that’s when their relationship soured.

Besides overdue audits, trip reports and corrective actions that were long overdue, there were also no goods and spares or service contracts for critical plant areas and there was a high staff turnover, especially in critical skills such as engineering.

Mametja said a few months down the line, he started picking up elements of fraud, theft and corruption, including sabotage and the payment of “ghost” contractors, which signalled collusion between Eskom employees.

Mametja left his job in March this year. He now heads Eskom’s maintenance centre of excellence, based at Megawatt Park, the company’s headquarters in Joburg.

He has sold his house in Mpumalanga, “to get out of there as part of extra measures”.

He told concerned MPs he no longer has security guards, who were removed at the end of May when Eskom's security boss told him a risk assessment was done and he was no longer at risk. He said he was not consulted during the assessment and expressed concern for his life, especially after the appearance before the committee.

“My coming here, I was hoping there would be no cameras. After this, I have to watch my back.”

Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa said Mametja’s account confirmed the existence of cartels and corruption at the power utility.

ANC MP Sakhumzi Somyo questioned the removal of security guards, especially by a head of security who is facing allegations of sabotage.

“It leaves a number of questions,” he said.