Eskom on Thursday announced that it has asked its CEO Tshediso Matona and three other executives to “step aside” while an inquiry into the parastatal is conducted.
Matona has been in the top job at Eskom for only six months. Before joining Eskom, he was director-general of the department of trade & industry.
Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi said the decision to asked the four executives to step aside follows a decision to conduct an independent investigation into Eskom’s business.
The others who have been asked to step down while an investigation is conducted are finance director Tsholofelo Molefe, group capital executive Dan Marokane and technology and commercial executive Matshela Koko.
A full statement from Eskom follows:
The Eskom board has today resolved to commission an independent enquiry on the current status of the business and its challenges. The board, in its quest to address the current challenges faced by Eskom, has deemed it prudent to seek an independent view on the status of, among other things:
- The poor performance of generation plant
- Delays in bringing the new generation plant on-stream
- High costs of primary energy
- Cash flow challenges
“To ensure that this process is as transparent and uninhibited as possible,” said Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi, “the board has also resolved that four of its senior executives, including the chief executive, should step down for the duration of this enquiry”.
The executives who have been asked to step down while the enquiry is underway are Tsholofelo Molefe (finance director), Dan Marokane (group capital) and Matshela Koko (commercial and technology). One of the current nonexecutive board members, Zethembe Khoza, has been asked to assume the position of interim chief executive. Khoza will be supported by Nonkululeko Veleti (finance), Abram Masango (group capital) and Edwin Mabelane (commercial and technology).
“All these senior executives have been with the organisation a long time,” added Tsotsi, “and we are confident that they will maintain business continuity during this period”.
The board also resolved that the independent enquiry be conducted by external parties, who will be selected within the next week. They will be given unfettered rights of access to all information deemed necessary for this probe to be successful.
The board has emphasised that this process is a critical step towards ensuring that the situation facing Eskom improves as expeditiously as possible. “To that end, we would like to assure our customers and employees that this was done in the best interest of all our stakeholders, and we hope to come out of this with a better grasp of all the challenges facing the business, and most importantly, with solutions”, added Tsotsi. — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media