Black managers take Eskom heat

ANC national executive committee (NEC) member Senzo Mchunu, a confidant of President Cyril Ramaphosa, has blamed “black managers” for the current crisis at state-owned power utility Eskom.

Mchunu was quoted by City Press as saying: “... we will regret calling some of our black manag- ers people of excellence... those people whom we trusted, who are indeed black managers, proved to be fake. They became excellent in failure and looting.”

He was responding to claims that the recent load shedding was a sabotage attempt by those within Eskom, who feared for their jobs if plans to unbundle and privatise were implemented.

The claims of sabotage were first made by ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa and echoed on social media.

Eskom’s management attributed it to ailing infrastructure and a mass exodus of skilled staff.

An unnamed senior Eskom manager told the publication: “In December they fired people who know the business and remained with people who do not... Now we have to rely on consultants.”