Eskom rehires spin-doctor

Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga said the power utility clearly had a "big communications challenge" that required a very robust communications capacity: "This is an effort to step up our communications efforts with South Africa. It is key to communicate the power challenge properly, given the big impact it has on the economy and the future success of this country."

While clearly not happy to see him go, Neotel CEO Ajay Pandey said the power crisis was bigger than just one company; rather, it was "a national subject on everybody's radar screen".

And if it could contribute in some way towards being part of the broader solution - of helping put "360-degree communications? in place - then it was the least that Neotel could do, Pandey said.

He said it was also a fact of life that Neotel and Eskom were part of the same "family", in that Eskom is a shareholder in Neotel.

The fact that Zulu was going back to where he came from also clearly indicated that good people were needed everywhere, Pandey said.

Maroga said he had initiated discussions with Neotel after Eskom battled to find a suitable person in the market to fulfil its communications requirements. Zulu had a "sharp mind on communication issues", Maroga said. "He can think on his feet."

Maroga said he was grateful that Pandey had agreed to let Zulu go, and could release him quickly.

It was also an advantage that Zulu already had an "intense knowledge of Eskom and the technical issues... That gives us an advantage in that he can hit the ground running." Zulu also had a lot of credibility with many stakeholders, as well as internally with the exco, Maroga said.

Although Neotel doesn't yet know who will replace Zulu, Pandey said he would not disappear from the building immediately, and fortunately, he had also been able to put a good team in place below him.

Although Maroga would still be the utility's chief spokesperson, he said Zulu would in future do most of the communications.

Maroga also said that although Zulu would begin on May 1, the parties had agreed that he would still around to fulfil any of the obligations at Neotel that he needed to, to ensure that neither company was left compromised.

Given that the companies are in such different phases of their development - Eskom in crisis and rebuild mode, and Neotel in start-up mode, but already with an exciting story to tell - that Zulu might have been reluctant to go back to Eskom.

But, Maroga said Zulu had a "sense of a national contribution", and an understanding of the importance of managing the power challenge over the next few years.

- Fin24.com