Jabu Mabuza, the well-respected chairperson of Business Leadership South Africa and Phakamani Hadebe, a former head of client at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, have been tasked with resurrecting the embattled Eskom.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's office on Saturday afternoon announced sweeping changes at Eskom, including the removal of acting CEO Matshela Koko and Anoj Singh, both the subject of corruption allegations and suspected of being close to the Zupta network of state capture.
The board also includes Mark Lamberti, CEO of Imperial Holdings, academic Professor Malekgapuru Makgoba and George Sebulela from the Black Business Council.
This follows a meeting between Ramaphosa, President Jacob Zuma and Lynne Brown, minister of public enterprises. Ramaphosa is said to have insisted on fundamental changes at Eskom and that he was determined to leave for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Monday with two important messages: Zuma is on his way out and state-owned enterprises are being repaired.
In another indication of the power shift which is gathering momentum since the election of Ramaphosa as ANC president, the statement says the deputy president will take the lead in reforming Eskom.
"The board is directed to immediately remove all Eskom executives who are facing allegations of serious corruption and other acts of impropriety, including Mr Matshela Koko and Mr Anoj Singh. Government further calls on all Eskom employees and other stakeholders who may have evidence of wrongdoing to bring this to the attention of law enforcement agencies so that culprits can be brought to book.
"The Ministers of Public Enterprises, Energy and Finance will work together under the leadership of the Deputy President, to deal with other structural issues, which include the funding model and other industry challenges identified by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on SOE Reform," the statement says.
Ramaphosa is quoted as saying: "For South Africa to flourish, Eskom must work and work well."
Eskom is in a precarious financial position, with the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) threatening to suspend bond trading in Eskom debt if its outstanding financial statements aren't finalised by the end of the month.
THE NEW ESKOM BOARD
1. Jabu Mabuza (chair)
2. Sifiso Dabengwa
3. Sindi Mabaso-Koyana
4. Mark Lamberti
5. Tshepo Mongalo
6. Prof Malegapuru Makgoba
7. Busisiwe Mavuso
8. Ms Nelisiwe Magubane
9. Dr Rod Crompton
10. George Sebulela
11. Pulane Molokwane
12. Dr Banothile Makhubela
13. Jacky Molisane
ANC STATEMENT ON ESKOM
The African National Congress welcomes the decisive action taken by government to speedily intervene to address the challenges plaguing state energy utility, Eskom. Far reaching measures intended to improve governance as well as restore the integrity of the state owned company were announced today in a statement released by the Deputy President of the Republic, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa.
The appointment of an experienced, qualified and credible leadership to the Board of Eskom, as well as the injunction to immediately remove all executives implicated in corruption and other acts of impropriety at Eskom is in line with the key priorities of the African National Congress drawn from the 54th National Conference and the January 8 statement to restore the credibility of public institutions, state owned enterprises and law enforcement agencies. It is also practical action responding to our commitment to confront corruption and state capture in all its forms.
The African National Congress wishes the newly appointed Board of Directors as well as Acting CEO Mr Phakamani Hadebe well in their quest to return Eskom to its rightful place as a high-performance organization with an ethical leadership at the helm. We further assure them of our unwavering support in their mission to serve the public in line with their development mandate.
We are confident that these interventions serve to bring closer the realization of our commitment to mobilize all social partners behind an economic recovery plan based on, amongst others, protecting our public institutions from improper interference, stability and coherence of our economic policies, and proper governance and management of our state owned companies.