Eskom has reported a 6% decline in sales in its interim results for the six months ending in September, revealing a sustained decrease in plant performance. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The announcement of a new Eskom chief executive is imminent, according to a source in the department of public enterprises, with a special cabinet meeting set for Friday to discuss the appointment.
Insiders told the Mail & Guardian that the agenda for the special meeting was to talk about the government’s energy plans, with one saying Dan Marokane, the CEO of struggling sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, will be recommended for endorsement by cabinet to head the state-owned power utility.
The insider said that Eskom had recommended names to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who approved Marokane as the leading candidate. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Marokane’s announcement as CEO would be made shortly.
“Just expect an announcement after the special cabinet meeting,” they said.
The spokesperson for the department of public enterprises, Ellis Mnyandu, declined to comment.
Marokane has previously worked as head of group capital at Eskom, which has been without a full-time CEO since Andre De Ruyter stepped down in December. Calib Cassim has been acting in the position as the hunt for a substantive chief for the entity hit several stumbling blocks this year.
Gordhan has rejected previous CEO candidates presented to him, leading to the eventual resignation of Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana. Gordhan has been labelled as “meddlesome” in his handling of Eskom by former board chairperson Malegapuru Makgoba, an accusation his spokesperson denied.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena told the Mail & Guardian on Thursday that she could not provide any information, saying “unfortunately in as far as Eskom is concerned, the process is with the shareholder [department of public enterprises] to finalise and make the decision”.
Also on the agenda for Friday’s special cabinet meeting will be the next bid window for South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
Bid windows seven and eight are meant to procure 5 000 megawatts of renewable energy each. Bid window seven has been held back because of the delayed release of the country’s energy plan — known as the updated integrated resource plan — despite Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa saying it had to be released at the end of November.
Eskom also has plans to strengthen its transmission network to enable more renewable energy projects to come online and be added to the grid.