Cape Town - Eskom announced on Friday that it is replacing acting CEO Johnny Dladla with Sean Maritz.
Maritz is Eskom’s CIO and group executive for information technology and has been appointed as the interim group CEO with immediate effect.
"In an effort to embed organisational stability, it is imperative that the role of Eskom’s group CEO be permanently filled. The recruitment process will begin in due course," Eskom said in a statement.
"The Eskom board has decided to rotate current executives in this role to ensure exposure. Mr Johnny Dladla has occupied the role of Interim Group Chief Executive since June 2017."
Dladla will resume his role as CEO of Eskom Rotek Industries (ERI).
On Thursday Eskom said that it would recover the fees unlawfully paid to McKinsey (R1bn) and Gupta-linked Trillian (R564m).
“The interim findings from Eskom investigations, into the circumstances surrounding payments made to both the companies, point to certain decisions by Eskom, and resultant payments, as being unlawful,” the statement read.
Eskom said it had written to both companies requesting their cooperation, Fin24 reported.
“Being such a critical entity, which is inextricably tied to the nation’s economy, it is in the public interest to do everything we can as Eskom to claw back all the fees which were unlawfully paid, while expediting the disciplinary processes currently underway,” it said.
On Wednesday Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown told Parliament that Eskom’s lies about the payments made are an “assault” on South Africa’s democratic system of governance.
Brown said a probe by the Special Investigations Unit into allegations of corruption and state capture at Eskom, which is currently underway, was a critical step to restore public and investor confidence in the power company, Fin24 reported.
Brown intends to call an Eskom special general meeting in November to appoint a permanent board. Part of the new board’s first mandate would be to appoint a permanent group CEO.
The minister's spokesperson Colin Cruywagen confirmed to Fin24 on Friday that Eskom had requested to have the acting CEO position on a rotational basis, to which the minister agreed.
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