Eskom confirms CEO's resignation

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Johannesburg - Following days of uncertainty and speculation, power utility Eskom has confirmed the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jacob Maroga.

In a statement on Thursday, Eskom said Maroga had resigned as Eskom's chief on 28 October.

This comes as Bobby Godsell announced his resignation as the chairman of Eskom's board earlier this week.

Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan has in the meantime, with the support of the Eskom board, appointed Mpho Makwana to act as chairman.

"The board recognises that Maroga's resignation brings uncertainty which requires urgent normalisation at Eskom. Makwana will guide the company until a new Chairman and CEO are appointed," Eskom said in the statement.

It said in order to achieve stability Makwana would manage the Eskom business and all operational matters with the appropriate delegated authority. His fundamental role would be to ensure that Eskom continues with and focuses on its mandate of providing secure electricity.

Makwana said his role was to help employees with the healing process after this difficult period and to instil in them a sense of belonging, pride and kin spirit.

"Eskom relies on the resilience and drive of employees to deliver on keeping the lights on," he said.

Makwana further guaranteed South Africans of the fundamental role of Eskom to provide a reliable electricity supply, adding that Eskom remained financially sustainable as it proceeded with the tariff application process.

The acting chief maintained that while this was a difficult time fore Eskom, he was confident the organisation remained focussed on the job at hand and would continue to power South Africa's economy though the supply of reliable electricity.

In October, the power utility applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to increase the price of electricity by 45 percent every year over the course of the next three years.