Complex Eskom has leadership, it just needs to be tapped internally

By Alec Hogg

As South Africans grumble and curse about power outages, there's speculation aplenty about how Eskom got into such a parlous state. Especially at Luthuli House, where Eskom's problems are leveraged by expanding Opposition Parties which are extracting tons of political capital from the disaster.

Those genuinely seeking solutions should reflect on a time, only two decades back, when Eskom was the fifth largest and lowest cost electricity provider on earth. Those were the days when Ian McRae provided leadership. The antithesis of today's political appointees, McRae's education included a five year apprenticeship; four years studying for his BSc degree; and two years of pupilage working in various departments. Born into the business (his father worked there too) at 31 he became the youngest power station manager in Eskom's history. He progressed through the ranks, but only at 56, after almost four decades inside the business, was he regarded as suitably qualified for the top job.

In his superb autobiography, The Test of Leadership, McRae expresses gratitude for his 11 years of learning: "Throughout my career I drew on this experience in various ways. I was able, even as Chief Executive, to sit down on a toolbox in a workshop and relate to staff. They also knew that I had been there myself and understood the issues. It always felt as if we were part of the same team." A prod, perhaps, for Eskom's shareholder: there's a whole lot more to running so complex an organisation than simply having the right political connections. Surely it's time to return to sourcing Eskom leadership internally?

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