Nothing irregular, says Eskom’s Maritz

ESKOM interim group chief executive Sean Maritz yesterday admitted to hiring a friend on a R100 000-per-month contract without following proper procedure, but rejected that this was irregular. Maritz said that he “acknowledged the oversight” but rejected accusations that the awarding of the contract was irregular. He said the awarding of the contract was adjudicated upon by a panel as per Eskom’s internal processes. Maritz said that his six months written warning in relation to the conflict of interest expired in 2010, and had thus been duly expunged. He also asked for space and time to focus on executing his duties. The admission follows weekend media reports that Maritz had previously received a written warning because he did not declare that the lucrative contract was given to a friend and fellow church member in 2010. Maritz, chief information officer and group executive for information technology at Eskom, was last week appointed interim group chief executive of the power utility, replacing Johnny Dladla. – ANA