Advocate Sandra Coetzee has been appointed the acting head of the Independent Power Producers Office, following the removal of former boss Karen Breytenbach.
The Development Bank of South Africa on Thursday afternoon issued a statement indicating that Coetzee will take on the acting position while a permanent head is recruited. Coetzee's appointment is effective July 25.
Coetzee has been head of strategy, combined assurance and risk at the office since 2013 and has many years of experience in executive leadership positions in both the public and private sector across multiple industries such as energy, water, telecommunications and transport, the DBSA said.
As a managing director at a specialist consulting firm, Coetzee delivered over 40 projects - in the capacity of legal, transaction and regulatory expertise. She has also served clients across sub-Saharan Africa. DBSA CEO Patrick Dlamini said that Coetzee has a track record of cohesive multi-disciplinary team work, mentoring and capacity building. She also has acumen for corporate governance, compliance and risk management.
Bloomberg previously reported that Breytenbach was asked by the Department of Energy and the DBSA to vacate her position nine months before her contract expired.
According to a tweet by energy expert Anton Eberhard, Breytenbach had overseen R209bn investments in renewable energy projects.
The energy department however issued a statement indicating Breytenbach's ouster is a measure taken to stabilise the office.