Hogan defends Maroga

Cape Town - Embattled Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga is not solely responsible for the power utility's problems, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said on Wednesday.

Replying to questions in the National Assembly, she said it was unfair to blame only Maroga.

Earlier, Sake24 reported that President Jacob Zuma had intervened to prevent Maroga being sacked by the Eskom board.

As a consequence, the board had been embroiled in an fierce dispute with government - led by Hogan and her deputy Enoch Godongwana.

"Meanwhile, Eskom is apparently leaderless and the electricity giant's lips are sealed. Official spokespersons have for days been embarrassed by requests for information, and unable to provide answers," Sake24 reported.

Hogan's spokesperson had also declined to comment on the issue, as had the presidency.

Sake24 said the main reason for the board's dissatisfaction with Maroga was ostensibly his handling of a report by Susan Olsen. In July 2007, six months before the electricity crisis, Olsen, an American energy consultant, warned Maroga in a comprehensive report that Eskom's coal division "would collapse under its own weight" unless serious steps were taken.

Democratic Alliance spokesperson Cobus Schmidt said later on Wednesday Zuma had "absolutely no business telling the Eskom board that they cannot fire Jacob Maroga".

"Mr Maroga's tenure has been marred by all number of problems, and it is clear that the Eskom board has lost faith in him.

"For there to be political interference at this stage is simply untenable."

Schmidt said Maroga should be dismissed for several reasons. These included his decision to fire Olsen after she warned in a confidential memo to Maroga that Eskom's coal procurement practices were placing electricity supplies in jeopardy.

Maroga appeared to do little to act on Olsen's advice, and ultimately South Africa endured a period of "load shedding" which cost the country approximately R2bn per day, Schmidt said.

- Sapa