Eskom dilemma
THE government has sent a clear signal that corruption at Eskom is being taken by the scruff of the neck. The utility has been placed back on the right path with the announcement of a new board chaired by businessman Jabu Mabuza. The board also included a respected former Treasury official and ex-Land Bank boss Phakamani Hadebe.
Other members include businessmen Sifiso Dabengwa, George Sebulela and Mark Lamberti, health ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba, energy expert Rod Crompton and former energy director-general Neli Magubane.
These are no doubt experienced and highly-qualified professionals and technocrats.
The new board will have its work cut out. One of its first tasks was to get rid of Eskom head of generation Matshela Koko and chief financial officer Anoj Singh, as well as some other officials.
Singh and Koko are expected to appear before the Parliament committee probing state capture.
Eskom’s financial predicament is no small matter. The action taken did not come a moment too soon, but questions still need to asked about why it has taken so long. It was way back in October when Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba had alluded to the serious risk Eskom posed to the country’s economy.
One possible answer is that President Jacob Zuma was prepared to sit by idly as the power utility was being stripped, but that his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa buoyed by his election as president of the ANC decided that enough was enough.
Ramaphosa since being elected has been sending out all the right signals.
It would not be off the mark to say he had put sufficient pressure on Zuma to move quicker on establishing a commission of inquiry into state capture. But a lot more needs to be done at Eskom to avoid it from sliding into the abyss.
If this happens and the company sinks there will be “no currency and no economy” to talk about to potential investors by the time Ramaphosa and Gigaba return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The two are acutely aware of the dire situation and the need for urgent action. While they wine and dine with global leaders in Davos for a few days, this will remain top of mind for them.