Cape Town - Eskom has appointed Johnny Dladla as its new acting group chief executive with immediate effect.
“Dladla has sufficient skills to excel in this role. He has 22 years of experience within the Eskom, 17 years invested in various non-regulated businesses and five years as chief executive officer for Eskom Enterprises and its subsidiaries,” said acting board chairperson Zethembe Khoza in a statement on Thursday.
“I welcome the appointment of Mr Dladla as it will bring further stability to Eskom and its executive team,” Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said.
- FULL STATEMENT: Eskom appoints new acting CEO
The appointment ends speculation that Matshela Koko would return to his role as acting chief executive.
He has been on special leave since Brian Molefe’s brief return to Eskom in May, after the Eskom board appointed Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr to investigate Koko for a potential conflict of interest relating to his stepdaughter.
Fin24 reported this week that the board had a copy of the report and was “interrogating” (sic) it before making a recommendation to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
Gupta-owned The New Age reported on Thursday that the report cleared Koko, citing an Eskom source who said he should be made acting CEO. “The investigators have cleared Koko of any wrongdoing,” a source said. “This now makes him the front runner for the CEO’s position.”
However, Brown will probably only turn to the Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr report and the Eskom board’s recommendation regarding Koko next week.
Attention is currently on Eskom's annual general meeting, which will be held at Megawatt Park on Friday.
Brown sought Cabinet approval on Wednesday to appoint new board members and a new chairperson, whose names will be revealed at the AGM.
Ben Ngubane resigned as chairperson last week, while Molefe’s reappointment was reversed in May amid the R30m early pension payout fiasco.
The new acting chief executive, chairperson and board face a gruelling period of court action, investigations and Parliamentary inquiries.
What the new leadership faces:
- Molefe has taken Eskom to the Labour Court regarding taken his pension and appointment reversal, while the Economic Freedom Fighters and Democratic Alliance are continuing with their High Court application regarding Molefe's reappointment, which has been postponed pending the Labour Court process. However, that court barred Molefe from returning to work pending the outcome of the hearings.
- Eskom is set to be investigated by the Special Investigating Unit, after Brown instructed the branch to probe all coal contracts and tenders at Eskom. It requires President Jacob Zuma's approval.
- A Parliamentary inquiry into the maladministration, governance problems and procurement issues at Eskom will officially commence in the first week of August 2017, when the legislature resumes its activities for the third quarter.
- The Public Protector will conduct a preliminary investigation to determine the merits of some of the allegations that have been published as part of the #GuptaLeaks saga pointing to issues at Eskom, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and Transnet. There is still the recommendation by the former Public Protector that Zuma appoint a judicial inquiry into allegations of state capture regarding Eskom, Molefe and the Guptas.
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