Eskom CEO mess: Gordhan, board at loggerheads

The appointment of a new CEO at Eskom has been delayed by a dispute over the age of the prospective candidates, Business Day reported, citing a letter from public enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to the utility’s chairman.

The board should consider candidates over the age of 60, after excluding them in its effort to fill the position, the Johannesburg-based newspaper cited Gordhan as saying.

The minister also criticised the board for only recommending one candidate, instead of a shortlist of three as required under Eskom’s memorandum of incorporation and guidelines for the appointment of CEOs at state-owned entities, it said.

The board recommended Dan Marokane, the former head of group capital at Eskom, for the position, the paper said.

Eskom pollution soars

Eskom expects to reduce electricity outages before the end of the year as it anticipates less energy demand because of warmer summer weather.

The company plans to limit outages to stage 4 — in which 4GW is removed from the grid in order to prevent a total blackout — in the coming months, executives said at a briefing on Wednesday.  — (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP

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