Respected Eskom insider gets the top job
Eskom has appointed Johnny Dladla as its new acting group CE on the eve of its annual meeting after which the current board is expected to be removed. Dladla had 22 years experience at Eskom, 17 of them in various nonregulated businesses and five years as CE for Eskom Enterprises and its subsidiaries, said acting CE Zethembe Khoza.
Power utility Eskom has appointed Johnny Dladla as its new acting group CE on the eve of its annual general meeting at which the board is expected to be removed.
Dladla had 22 years’ experience at Eskom, 17 of them in various nonregulated businesses and five years as CE for Eskom Enterprises and its subsidiaries, said acting CE Zethembe Khoza.
It is understood that several attempts were made by some senior executives and Eskom board members to introduce Dladla to the Gupta family, but that he declined.
Several board members have been implicated in a tranche of leaked e-mails between members of the controversial Gupta family and their associates.
Energy analyst Chris Yelland said Dladla had a solid reputation and many years of experience to draw on. His experience included a string of achievements at Eskom since 1992 in marketing, customer care and communications.
He also performed various stints in both the CEO’s and chairman’s offices, where he gained valuable experience in stakeholder relations.
Dladla has been particularly focused on relations with large customers in the private sector and the government.
“I have a high regard for him. Many people in Eskom who have been appalled by [former CEO] Brian Molefe and [former acting CEO] Matshela Koko are very relieved over his appointment and think he is the right person for the job,” Yelland said.
The position of CE has been vacant since the power utility’s board was forced earlier in June to rescind the reinstatement of Molefe. Eskom has been plagued by governance and corruption problems and instability in its management team, with a number of resignations.
Following Molefe’s removal, Eskom board chairman Ben Ngubane resigned with immediate effect.
Khoza was appointed acting chairman in his place.
The power utility is also facing a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis plaguing it since 2007. It was also revealed, in written replies to parliamentary questions, that President Jacob Zuma’s special adviser on energy, Silas Zimu, had not declared that he was a nonexecutive director in a company that was awarded a R149m Eskom contract.
The DA’s Natasha Mazzone asked Zuma whether Zimu had declared his nonexecutive directorship in the company for the contract to supply wiring. Zuma replied that it was not declared and that the “delegated executive authority” was in engagement with Zimu with regard to this.
On Thursday, Eskom said Dladla’s appointment followed intense consultations between Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and the board.