In his second venture into business, Cyril Ramaphosa is set to take over at Eskom, writes Mungo Soggot
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA is tipped to become the next chairman of national power supplier Eskom when the present incumbent, John Maree, steps down.
The chief executive officer of the parastatal, Allan Morgan, confirmed this week it would be “good speculation” to say Ramaphosa will succeed Maree when the government decides to appoint a new Electricity Council chairman. He stressed the appointment of a new chairman was an executive decision to be approved by Cabinet.
Maree, who was abroad this week, has made no official comment about leaving, but Eskom officials say there has been much speculation about his imminent departure.
The appointment would represent a fascinating twist in the career of the Ramaphosa, who quit full-time politics six months ago and started his business career by steering the country’s biggest black empowerment deal to date – the acquisition of a stake in Johnnic by the National Empowerment Consortium (NEC).
It would also mean a return to his roots: the strongest union at Eskom is the National Union of Mineworkers, in the service of which Ramaphosa developed his legendary negotiating skills. His former colleague, NUM assistant general manager Gwede Mantashe, is already on the Eskom board, or Eskom “Council”.
It is understood senior officials at Eskom are particularly keen to have Ramaphosa on board. President Nelson Mandela is said to approve of the move, but it remains unclear whether Deputy President Thabo Mbeki backs it.
Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau’s office refused to either confirm or deny Ramaphosa had been approached. A representative said Sigcau would submit a list of new Eskom councillors to Cabinet in the next couple of weeks. He said a new chairman could be picked from this list.
The possibility of Ramaphosa taking the job was broached last year when he was still in politics, but became a more serious option with his move into the business world.
The job as chairman is part-time – Maree, who also heads Nedcor, spends two or three days a week at Eskom – which means Ramaphosa will be able to continue as deputy chairman of New Africa Investments Limited, the lead company in the NEC. The NEC’s next task requiring his negotiating skills is a stake in Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, likely this year.
Eskom is considered the most efficient and well-run of South Africa’s major parastatals – with the help of the relatively cheap funding it obtained for its massive infrastructure and scant restrictions on power station emissions. It has far fewer problems facing it than transport parastatal Transnet, which is held back by its massive pension fund deficit.
If Ramaphosa – currently wrapping up his work as Constitutional Assembly president – becomes chairman, he will join the parastatal as it starts gearing up some of its divisions for privatisation. However, industry observers say the energy supplier’s privatisation will not take place before the next election, particularly because of Eskom’s crucial contribution to the Reconstruction and Development Programme through its mass electrification drive.
Some senior Eskom officials have recently made pro-privatisation noises out of line with statements from the government, fuelling the impression that Eskom is less in step with the new regime than it was with the old government. This would explain their enthusiasm for having Ramaphosa on board.
It is unlikely that Ramaphosa will be associated with Eskom when the government begins selling it off in earnest. For as observers noted this week, one of the best reasons for Ramaphosa taking the job would be its proximity to the government, easing his return to politics.