Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga was paid a R2.3 million performance bonus in February in spite of being fired for poor performance last year, the High Court in Johannesburg heard on Tuesday.
His lawyer Vincent Maleka said last year when Maroga received a letter from former Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell concerning a salary increase it also contained a hand-written note from Godsell thanking him for his good leadership.
When his job assessment was done he was told in August that he had achieved a score of 70 percent which was regarded as very good.
The R2.3 million bonus was paid to him because the company believed it was going to achieve its goal of saving several billion rand by March this year.
The bonus related to a period while he was still CEO and so it was duly paid to him.
Maleka said that Maroga failed to understand how he could then be fired for poor performance in November 2009.
There was also no documentation to say that his poor performance had been discussed with him.
Maleka said that Maroga submitted: "Eskom is unable to prove that these matters were ever raised to me".
"It is unconscionable that I should be dismissed on an allegation of poor performance with which I was never confronted with...," said Maleka reading from an affidavit made by Maroga.
When the board met on October 28, 2009 his performance was not on the agenda.
The company says that Maroga offered to resign at this meeting and they subsequently accepted it.
Amid a dispute over whether he had resigned, the company then announced in November that he had been fired for poor performance and incapacity.
Maroga was claiming R85 million from the company for benefits he would have accrued if he had stayed on until 2011 when his contract would have ended. -
Sapa
