Veteran Dladla new Eskom acting CEO
But DA’s Mazzone wants to scrutinise new man’s resume
After 21 days without an acting CEO at Eskom‚ Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown has finally appointed a veteran employee of the parastatal‚ Johnny Dladla‚ to take over the reins after she failed to meet her 48-hour deadline.
This follows a harsh backlash from various political parties‚ including the ANC‚ the DA and the EFF after an interministerial committee concluded that Brown should order the Eskom board to rescind former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe’s reinstatement.
Brown had initially committed to appointing an acting CEO within 48 hours after Molefe’s reinstatement was rescinded.
“We don’t have time lines of when we will be appointing a permanent CEO but the minister did emphasise that the board needs to move with speed to get a permanent CEO‚” said board spokesman Khulani Qoma.
The appointment of Dladla follows much speculation that former acting Eskom CEO Matshela Koko would be permanently appointed in the position. Koko‚ who is head of generation at Eskom‚ was relieved of his acting chief executive duties when Molefe returned briefly last month.
Qoma said that although Koko had occupied the position‚ he was not part of the “equation” when candidates were screened to act.
Moreover‚ the Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr report‚ which investigated a potential conflict of interest regarding Koko’s stepdaughter‚ Koketso Choma‚ was received by Eskom on Monday.
The investigation follows a report in the Sunday Times on March 26 2017‚ which revealed that Choma was a director at Impulse International when it netted at least R1-billion in contracts from Eskom in just 11 months. Koko was subsequently placed on leave pending the release of the report.
According to Eskom’s acting board chairman Zethembe Khoza‚ Dladla has sufficient skills as he has 22 years of experience within the parastatal‚ 17 years invested in various nonregulated businesses and five years as chief executive officer for Eskom Enterprises and its subsidiaries. The ANC welcomed Dladla’s appointment but said the position must be permanently filled as soon as possible. However, DA shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Natasha Mazzone said she wanted to scrutinise Dladla’s resume.