Cape Town - The Eskom board has the habit of "running amok" in critical moments, Vytjie Mentor, the chairperson of Parliament's portfolio committee on public enterprises said on Friday.

This was in reaction to reports that Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga had resigned (a Fin24.com report says that Maroga is not officially out of the picture, as he is yet to sign severance papers).

"When it is critical moments like this, the board runs amok with the issues without considering a whole lot of issues," Mentor said in an interview on SAfm.

She could not confirm whether Maroga had resigned, as Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell announced to staff on Thursday.

Shortly after that, the African National Congress Youth League said Maroga had not resigned.

Maroga is yet to comment.

"We need to be shown proof that he has resigned... there has been conflicting reports which insist that he has not resigned," said Mentor.

"We are told it's the board [who is behind his reported resignation]. What is the role of the shareholder in this saga?," asked Mentor.

She said she heard the news through the opposition Democratic Alliance.

"This is not [good] for the confidence of the country... for the utility itself. It is coming at the wrong time and the question I want to add... is what role is the board playing?

"Is it management only that must be blamed?"

Mentor said, two weeks ago, when Eskom's annual report was presented, there was no talk of unhappiness with Maroga's performance.

"The board and the management appeared two weeks ago before parliament... in that annual report Mr Maroga has received R2 million additionally to his salary.

"There was no indication that they were not happy with his performance."

The board needed to take some responsibility in the performance of the CEO.

"If the board is not performing... the board has to answer," she said.

Maroga was at Eskom's helm in turbulent times, including rolling black-outs in 2008 and, more recently, a request for 45% tariff hikes every year for the next three years.

- Sapa