Eskom’s restructuring chief to split duties, report to ministers

Freeman Nomvalo, the new chief restructuring officer for Eskom, will divide his time between managing the unbundling of the loss-making state power giant and his job as head of the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants.

The role taken by Nomvalo, relatively unknown among economists and analysts, will be more of a process manager than a standalone company executive, according to a statement by the Department of Public Enterprises. “He will lead the efforts to establish the CRO Office” and head a team of specialists to execute the turnaround of Eskom, it said.

Read: Eskom has 18 months to get its house in order

The task of reorganising Eskom is crucial for the company and the country, with Eskom having posted a record R20.7 billion ($1.5 billion) loss on Tuesday and surviving on bailouts from a cash-strapped state. Saddled with more than $30 billion of debt, it’s seen as the biggest threat to South Africa’s economy. The government plans to split the monopoly into three businesses to help make it self sufficient.

Nomvalo, who will remain as the chief executive officer of Saica, was not the type of high-profile candidate speculated about in the weeks before his appointment. He will report to the ministers of finance and public enterprises and the Eskom board, the department said.

“It’s clear that the CRO, given his lack of experience at Eskom, will really focus on the technical process of the reconfiguration,” said Darias Jonker, a London-based director at Eurasia Group. “He will inevitably clash with vested interests within Eskom and then the divergent interests from the various political interest groups, although he would defer to his political principals on that.”

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