Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said that South Africa’s embattled power utility will have its board of directors restructured.
SOUTH Africa’s embattled power utility Eskom will have its board of directors restructured.
This is according to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
The state-owned electricity company has been facing serious and recurring challenges since June this year, having to implement Stage 6 load shedding twice over the past four months.
As South Africans continue to face the high cost of living, they also have to contend with power cuts on a daily basis.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) explained that the term of the board had expired in 2021 and that a review of its work has been under way.
“The minister has been in constant engagement with the board on various matters such as procurement, recruitment of former and experienced Eskom employees, and combating fraud and corruption. On Tuesday, the Minister informed the board that a review has been finalised and that the board will soon be reconstituted and restructured. The board members will be informed of the outcome of the process,” the department said.
The DPE said a new board for the entity will be revealed soon.
“Government will soon deliberate on the reconstitution of a new and restructured Eskom board and an announcement will be made in due course. Minister Gordhan thanked the current board for their service during the most challenging period of the entity,” the department said.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, Eskom lashed out against the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for airing its dirty laundry to Members of Parliament about certain concerns it had at the Koeberg nuclear power station instead of raising issues internally.
In April, the portfolio committees on public enterprises and minerals and energy held a joint oversight visit at Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town to monitor the replacement of steam generators.
Eskom had, earlier this year, begun work for the replacement of three steam generators on each of the two 920MW nuclear reactors to extend the life of the Koeberg power station for an additional 20 years post its original generation life, which is July 31, 2024.
During the visit, the NUM told committee members that it was concerned about Eskom’s decision to prolong the required maintenance of the steam generator replacement, adding that it suspected shady dealings between Eskom and the French contractor, Framatome.
However, Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter today said management had suspended three senior employees after identifying poor project management, inadequate contract management and a lack of financial discipline as being contributory factors towards the project not commencing as scheduled.
– BUSINESS REPORT
