Eskom’s board of directors will soon have new members following public pressure to appoint personnel who possess the necessary engineering expertise to end load shedding.
This comes after public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan yesterday (TUES) confirmed that he would soon reconstitute and restructure the Eskom board.
The term of the existing Eskom board expired in 2021 and was extended subject to a review.
In a brief statement yesterday, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) said that Gordhan had been in constant engagements with the board on various matters.
These were issues mainly pertaining to the current generation challenges and other energy related matters such as procurement, recruitment of former and experienced Eskom employees, and combating fraud and corruption.
The DPE said he informed the board that a review had been finalised and that the board will soon be reconstituted and restructured.
“The board members will be informed of the outcome of the process,” it said
“Minister Gordhan thanked the current board for their service during the most challenging period of the entity.
“Government will soon deliberate on the reconstitution of a new and restructured Eskom board and an announcement will be made in due course.”
The Eskom board, chaired by Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, has been seriously plagued by a shortage of skilled directors as seven posts out of 13 have remained vacant following resignations since 2018.
Last week, Gordhan briefed Cabinet on the capacity of Eskom to mitigate the intermittent load shedding after Eskom plunged the country to Stage 6 power cuts twice in as many weeks.
Cabinet, which also received a progress report from the Technical Committee of the National Energy Crisis Committee, expressed regret at the disruption and inconvenience caused by load shedding to businesses and households.
Eskom has since recruited former experienced employees and energy experts at different power stations to mentor Eskom employees and assist in the execution of the plant operations.
At least 18 seasoned energy specialists in power plant operations - some with over 20 years of experience - have re-entered the Eskom system to assist with operations.
Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union UASA, however yesterday said the fact that Eskom has signed on 18 Eskom veterans to keep the lights on was nothing to admire or cheer about.
Instead, Moyo said this should have been done decades ago.
“The situation has been allowed to run out of hand for years to the detriment of workers and their families, businesses and the economy as a whole. The catastrophic blackouts across the country with load shedding as a daily routine leave the country powerless for up to eight hours per day,” Moyo said.
“Businesses, small and large, crumble due to disruptions in productivity coupled with additional expenses for alternative power supplies. Over and above, massive job losses will soon follow if enterprises cannot make a profit or pay their workers.”
BUSINESS REPORT