Eskom says it will soon formally appoint a new Group Chief Executive Officer by the end of the year at the latest. It says it is waiting for the green light from Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, as required by law.
The entity has been without a CEO since the departure of the former head Andre de Ruyter last year. Chairperson of the Eskom board Dr Mteto Nyati says the urgency in the appointment of the CEO is part of the board’s plan to stabilise the organisation.
“Our top priority as the board is to stabilise the Eskom leadership team. And I am happy to announce that the Eskom board has provided the Minister of Public Enterprises Mr Pravin Gordhan with three appointable candidates for the group chief executive role. Our minister is currently driving government processes to finalise the appointment of the CEO by the end of this current calendar year.”
In other news from Parliament, Eskom’s board says it has developed a plan to achieve an energy availability factor of at least 65% by the first quarter of next year.
Nyati says there is an urgency to produce energy optimally to eliminate load shedding. He was part of an Eskom delegation that briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on the power utility’s annual report and accounts for the year 2022/23.
“In March 2023, the Eskom board approved the generation recovery plan. This turnaround plan detailed a road map of achieving 67% of energy availability by March 2024, that’s March next year. And the 70% of the availability of electricity by March 2025. Many such plans usually get dust because of a lack of implementation. It is for this reason that the board has appointed Mr Bheki Nxumalo who is here with us as the group executive for generation.”
