Eskom change worries black business

The Black Business Council (BBC) said yesterday that it was concerned by the sudden change of leadership at state-owned power utility Eskom, saying that government must give the enterprise some space and not meddle in its affairs.

This comes after Eskom last week appointed its chief information officer and group executive for information technology, Sean Maritz, as its interim group chief executive in a “rotational basis” of the executive role. He joined the executive committee in June last year after 28 years at Eskom.

Maritz replaced Johnny Dladla, who occupied the role of interim group chief executive since June following the suspension of another interim group chief executive, Matshela Koko.

Eskom is filling the top job on a rotational basis but said it would in due course begin recruiting a permanent chief executive, stressing that this was crucial for organisational stability.

BBC chairman Sello Rasethaba said they had met Eskom’s top management two weeks ago and emphasised that the BBC would not tolerate corruption and bad leadership.

“The recent changes in leadership do not inspire confidence and exacerbate damage to the economy. Mr Dladla has been acting CEO for 107 days and this will cultivate despondency for staff morale,” Rasethaba said. – ANA