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Leftover execs join forces to lead rudderless Eskom

Cape Town – The leftover executives at Eskom have converged to lead the power utility amid a power vacuum.

The executives have had to come together after acting CEO Matshela Koko was placed on special leave pending an investigation, returning CEO Brian Molefe was sent packing and chairperson Ben Ngubane resigned.

The executives that still remain at Eskom have “converged” to run the power utility, board spokesperson Khulani Qoma said on Tuesday.

The main executives he identified were Thava Govender (head of transmission), Mongezi Ntsokolo (head of distribution), Abram Masango (head of capital) and chief financial officer Anoj Singh.

“The leadership is working closer than it normally does under ordinary circumstances to cover the depth left by the chief executive,” Qoma told Fin24.

“There is much closer coordination and purpose coming from the executive team,” he said. “They said they wanted to pull together stronger more than ever.”

The convergence of the executives as a power unit comes after Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown gave the Eskom board 48 hours on 31 May to provide her with two names from the Eskom executive to become acting chief executive.

Brown's spokesperson Colin Cruywagen told Fin24 on Tuesday that Brown has received those names and is "applying her mind".

As Brown mulled this new appointment, Ngubane shocked the board by tendering his resignation as Eskom chairperson on Monday, which Brown accepted.

Qoma confirmed that Eskom’s annual general meeting will take place next Friday, where a new board and chairperson will likely be put in place.

READ: Ngubane’s resignation won’t exonerate him - DA

Koko, who is also head of generation, is on leave pending an internal inquiry regarding his stepdaughter Koketso Choma, who allegedly benefited from Eskom contracts worth about R1bn.

Molefe returned to Eskom on 15 May amid much song and dance. Fifteen days later, his reappointment was reversed. He had agreed to return after stepping down in November 2016, because the board was ordered by Brown to rescind his R30m early pension payout.

His return was meant to solve that dilemma, but now that move has backfired and Molefe has taken Eskom to the labour court. The DA and EFF have also taken Eskom to court over the matter, while parliament is holding an inquiry into the matter.

Brown has also launched a Special Investigating Unit inquiry in Eskom, which will take into consideration a plethora of other investigations into coal contracts and tenders, some of which point to the controversial Gupta family.

Ngubane has been a staunch defender of Molefe and has recently warned that the country could plunge back into load shedding if National Treasury does not stop blocking its coal contracts so it can stockpile coal before winter.

The former chairperson of Eskom and the SABC has been named twice so far in the GuptaLeaks saga. Once due to a failed bid to secure a lucrative oil concession in the Central African Republic (CAR) as well as in the revelations about the capture of Eskom.

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