News

Eskom Statement

The Black Business Executive Circle is delighted that a final resolution has been reached on the Eskom saga.

As one of the critical stakeholders in our economy, the BBEC has taken keen interest and as such been closely monitoring the recent developments at Eskom. In the past BBEC has been one of the organizations that have promoted harmonious relationships whilst promoting debate and diversity of views, all in the interest of creating a conducive and inclusive economic climate.

BBEC is home to Senior business leaders at the pinnacle of Black Business thought leadership in South Africa. The members, who eminate from diverse economic sectors, hold very senior positions at Executive level in their respective blue chip organizations. Good Governance is the paramount principle to which this business leadership group subscribes to.

We have viewed, with grave concern, the ructions in the boardroom at Megawatt park over the last two weeks. The Executive of BBEC, led by its Chairman, Mr Hlengani Mathebula, has been aggressively engaging all key stakeholders so as to ascertain the essence of the breakdown at Eskom. BBEC has been perturbed by the various allegations that has played out in the media, and found it necessary to unearth the facts before deliberating on its stance on this matter.

The Chairman personally contacted a number of affected parties. Some were quite willing to meet and relay their version of the facts. It must be noted that despite several attempts to have a formal briefing with Mr Jacob Maroga, this was not possible at the time of going to press. The Chairman, had, however, spoken to Mr Maroga a number of times telephonically.

The Executive of BBEC is satisfied that they had gone through all the necessary processes to acquire as much facts as possible to develop and pronounce its position on this matter. This is as follows:

  1. While we have heard of instances at Eskom where race was an issue - our observation in this particular instance is that this is not the basis of this particular breakdown of the relationship. The unfortunate difference of opinion has been prompted by a sharp difference in strategy and approach to solving the energy crisis facing this country.
  2. In addition, this was an issue of Governance. Does the Board of Directors, representing the shareholders - give guidance to the CEO and his Management team on key issues or does the Management formulate and implement strategy without due regard to the shareholders representative - in this case the Board of Directors?
  3. While making this observation, as it is valid in this particular instance - we strongly encourage that there must be very clear and distinct separation of powers between the stakeholders: Management, Board and Shareholder. This, we believe, needs to be so clearly defined and implemented - so as to avoid a repetition of a similar situation in future.. We note the fundamental difference of opinion between the Board and CEO with regards to the strategy to be adopted that will enable Eskom to address the current challenges. We have observed that this has however been the trend with the other SOE’s with particular reference to the recent SABC saga, Transnet etc. This situation could be symptomatic of broader Governance, Roles & responsibilities, Delegated levels of Authority issues
  4. It is unfortunate that the "lock down" of information has led to much speculation, external sources of information "leaked" to the media, and continued change of gameplan. The public was left with creating their own versions of the truth, the process, and the possible interventions. This was rather unfortunate and we trust that the shareholder should have a mechanism to communicate such crises when the moment arises. The "blackout" on information creates embarrassment for the country as a whole.
  5. It would be negligent of us, as BBEC, to paint a rosy picture of Eskom as an organization that is truly transformed and devoid of racism. On the contrary, we sincerely believe that there is a stark lack of empowerment at our State Owned Enterprises across the board. This certainly leaves our senior executives very vulnerable to be roasted by boards, shareholders, and the public through the media. .
  6. It is also noted, with extreme concern, the recent exodus of black senior executives from Eskom. The likes of Mpho Letlape, Fani Zulu, Bongani Nqwababa, Johnny Dladla, are products of the Eskom trajectory and executives that are held in very high esteem amongst their peers, for the passion in which they have served their organization. We do believe that the problem at Eskom extends beyond just the CEO and the Chairman.

"As an entity, Eskom is not only important to South Africa but to the African continent as a whole. To this end, we hope that this entire process will not unnecessarily drag on to the detriment of such a key organisation. We further urge the Shareholder to immediately create certainty by ensuring that all key positions within Eskom are substantively filled in an soon as is possible - including those of Chairman and CEO.