Business Report Economy

Eskom just needs leaders, says Brown

Yazeed Kamaldien|Published

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown. Photo: Willem Law Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown. Photo: Willem Law

 

Cape Town - Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown hit back at critics on Friday saying the suspension of Eskom executives this week did not mean the supplier is in crisis.

“We are not in a crisis. We would only be in a crisis if we were unable to deal with the challenges,” she declared.

However, Brown did admit that the board believed the problem at Eskom was “a leadership issue”.

 

She said she raised leadership concerns with Eskom’s board after its chief executive and three senior executives were suspended on Thursday.

Eskom said on Thursday it had also commissioned an independent inquiry into the “current status of the business and its challenges”.

It had “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, and cash-flow challenges”.

Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi said four senior executives, including the chief executive, “should step down for the duration of this inquiry”.

This was to “ensure that this process is as transparent and uninhibited as possible”.

Eskom chief executive Tshediso Matona, along with finance director Tsholofelo Molefe, group capital head Dan Marokane, and commercial and technology executive Matshela Koko, have been suspended for three months, the time allocated for the inquiry.

Opposition parties and critics have demanded that Brown explain how Eskom will function. Yesterday she replied: “I don’t want to deal with people yapping at my ankles. What’s important is we deal with this.”

Also on Friday, Eskom’s board claimed the public utility would not falter.

“I asked the board how Eskom would run for the next three months. I was told the persons below the suspended persons have been pushed up. All of them are qualified and have worked in the field for years,” said Brown. “All they need to do is add leadership.”

She said the executives would not automatically resume their jobs after the inquiry.

Weekend Argus