Johannesburg - Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has boosted the Eskom board with two highly respected academics.
The two new board members are internationally recognised scientist and current health ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba and legal practitioner and academic Tshepo Mongalo.
Makgoba is a former principal of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which he ran for 10 years after overseeing a difficult merger of the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.
He is also the current deputy chairperson of the National Planning Commission.
Makgoba is highly regarded as a transformation and ethics authority, and is well versed in government policy, corporate governance and human resources.
He has expertise in company law and is familiar with the environment within which state-owned companies operate.
He served as vice-chairperson of the department of trade and industry’s Specialist Committee on Company Law.
His skills in corporate financial law, business strategy, ethics and corporate governance are said to be invaluable to Eskom’s board.
Much to the disappointment of many, Brown kept under-fire interim chair Zethembe Khoza until Eskom’s annual general meeting (AGM) in June.
It was widely expected that Brown would make big adjustments, but the two additions were the only changes.
Brown said her strategy was to recruit specialist business expertise to fill additional vacant board positions before the AGM.
The Eskom board, which was approved by Cabinet this week, still includes Khoza, Pat Naidoo, Giovanni Leonardi, Pulane Molokwane, Simphiwe Dingaan, Banothile Makhubela and Sathiaseelan Gounden.
Brown said an additional candidate, who has business strategy expertise and was approved by Cabinet, ultimately declined his nomination, citing the highly charged environment in which Eskom operates.
She said this situation reflected the difficulty she faced in selecting a strong board.
The new Eskom board will serve for the next three years. – Fin24
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