City power chief executive, Lerato Setshedi, was given a letter of suspension on Tuesday, last week after allegedly being summoned by the new board chairperson William Mathamela.
Mathamela was appointed to the City power board by the new ANC led government in March 2020.
However, the decision is now shrouded in secrecy, as the employees were only told that the CEO was on leave in a two-line internal communication sent on Friday, last week.
The letter, which Sunday World has seen, dated 1 June 2020, was authored by the company secretary Mark Smith, and in it, he told employees that Setshedi has agreed with the board to take special leave.
The letter further said that while Out of the office, Setshedi will be replaced by Malope Ramatapa, Group Executive for Enterprise support, as Acting CEO.
It’s not clear what allegations are being levelled against Setshedi.
Known as a corruption buster, Setshedi’s mysterious suspension has left many employees with more questions than answers, and some believe that he was being hounded out for fighting corruption at the entity.
Senior employees at the entity, said his executives have been warned not to contact him, something which one said they took as a threat.
City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena confirmed that Setshedi has agreed with the board to go on special leave.
About reasons behind the CEO’s suspension, Mangena said City Power was made aware of allegations against the CEO by City of Joburg’s Group Forensic Investigtions Unit led by General Shadrack Sibiya.
“GFIS has advised the Board that it has received allegations submitted by an anonymous person(s). The office of General Sibiya is investigating and will submit a final report in due course,” said Mangena.
He said City Power takes any allegations of corruption in a very serious light, and said appropriate action will be taken against implicated individuals should there be substance in the allegations.
