Eskom: Govt encouraging independents; not changing directorate

CAPE TOWN, April 1 (Reuters) – South Africa’s government has accepted the resignation of Eskom’s chairman and will soon start the process to pick a new head for the power utility, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said on Wednesday.

Photo credit: Foter / CC BY-SA
Photo credit: Foter / CC BY-SA

Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi stepped down on Monday night, after he was accused of acting improperly by suspending the chief executive of the power utility which is battling the worst power crisis since 2008.

“I have decided to support the board’s recommendation and have appointed Dr. Ben Ngubane as interim chairperson with effect from 31 March 2015,” Brown said in her first comments since Tsotsi’s resignation.

The shake-up at Eskom is the latest in a long line of ructions at the utility, which provides almost all the power to Africa’s most advanced economy but is battling to keep the lights on amid a funding crunch.

Addressing the power crisis in Africa’s most advanced economy, Brown said Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had on Tuesday renewed a short-term power purchase contract with unspecified producers to supply at least 827 megawatts of electricity to the grid.

“Given the tight electricity supply, the renewal of the co-generation was essential to ensure that this 827 MW was retained in the system,” she said in a statement.

South Africans face frequent, controlled power cuts which Eskom implements to prevent the national grid from being overwhelmed. – REUTERS

Clarity by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene after “exclusive” interview:

The Minister wishes to clarify and put in context comments that are attributed to him regarding the appointment of a board of directors at Eskom, in a story that appeared in Business Report on 2 April 2015.

The report is based on an inaccurate interpretation of the Minister’s comments.

The facts are as follows: During the first round of board appointments, when the proposals of names for the Eskom board was taken to Cabinet in December 2014, Public Enterprises Minister Ms Lynne Brown only appointed 11 board members. The maximum number of members of the board is 13, in terms of Eskom’s Memorandum of Incorporation.

Minister Brown has initiated the process of filling the two vacant positions and will also need to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the chairperson.

The Finance Minister’s comments that Minister Brown “is working on appointing a full board for Eskom not just a replacement of the individuals but a full board for Eskom” relate to this process.

There is no process to replace the board of Eskom as reported by Business Report.

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