Appointment of new Eskom board cheered

Several industry associations have welcomed the news of a new board at Eskom.

“The government has taken the bull by its horns by terminating the term of the Eskom board and appointing a new board led by Jabu Mabuza,” the Black Business Council said. “This reflects the seriousness in which government is starting to take governance issues that are threatening the stability of the country’s finances.”

Business Leadership SA CEO Bonang Mohale said it was a clear display of government’s commitment to the transformation of state-owned entities (SOEs). “We have always maintained that the reform and restoration of the independence, integrity, impartiality and objectivity of public institutions, including our SOEs, is a matter of absolute urgency and should be a priority.”

Board commitments

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it hoped that under Mabuza, the new board will begin “the urgent and mammoth task of stabilising Eskom and fixing its governance structures and processes to stabilise the corporation.

“Eskom has big challenges with its mega capital projects and ability to trade out of the difficult financial and operational challenges it faces.”

Banking Association South Africa managing directgor Cas Coovadia agreed the board must move quickly to strengthen Eskom’s executive, “get rid of those in the team under investigation for corrupt activities, address the ‘going concern’ crisis and enable the organisation to play the critical role it must to enable economic growth”.

He added: “We believe the composition of the board, a mix of diverse but specialist skills [in finance, governance, engineering, business and commercial] is necessary to quickly restore stability to the operations and finances of Eskom and shows what is possible when there is political will.”

Sacci encouraged the board to speedily start the process of recruiting the best permanent CEO.

“At this time, the board has an opportunity not to compromise on a suitable candidate with competence, experience, a performance track-record and leadership capabilities.”

Mohale said Mabuza brought to the job a wealth of commercial experience from both the public and private sectors, as well as unimpeachable integrity, “a trait that is so badly needed right now in our country”. – Moneyweb AmaBhungane.

Despite these, SA’s prosecutorial bodies have remained silent. So, when the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on January 15 confirmed its intention to serve summons on members of the Gupta family and their cronies, ordering them to preserve assets to the tune of R1.6 billion, the first question that sprung to mind was why now?

The answer lies with Cyril Ramaphosa’s election [as ANC president] on a “change” and “reform” ticket.

His victory in December has shifted the balance of power