Eskom chair: Leaked candidate list undermines interview process

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Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana has called on fellow board members involved in the recruitment of the utility’s new chief executive officer to treat the process with respect and fairness.

Responding to questions from the Mail & Guardian about the leaking of candidates’ names, Makwana said this was eroding the processes needed to protect their information.

“Eskom does not provide details on our recruitment process until we have made an appointment. This is because discretion and confidentiality are essential when hiring executive candidates. We will not be in a position to provide any other details on this process, beyond where we are in the process, until this is concluded.”

He added that Eskom has been receiving queries regarding “leaked information” regarding the group chief executive (GCE) final shortlist.

“Eskom is concerned about this and dissociates itself from such. Secondly, we would like to confirm that the information regarding the shortlist of the candidates for the GCE position has not been communicated.

“As a principle, Eskom does not provide details of the candidates until we have made an appointment. This is because discretion and confidentiality is essential when hiring executive candidates. 

“We can confirm at this stage that we have concluded the interviews and will announce the successful candidate at the appropriate time.”

This is at a time when Eskom is attempting to rebuild its reputation after former CEO Andre de Ruyter exposed the rot in the utility, including sabotage and cartels.

De Ruyter left abruptly in February, after claiming in an interview on eNCA that two cabinet members had been involved in corruption at Eskom and that a third had known about it. He recently released the book Truth to Power, which shed light on some of the explosive allegations he made during the interview.

He was replaced by former Eskom chief financial officer Calib Cassim, who took on the position on an interim basis while the utility searched for a new leader.

The utility is implementing stage six rolling blackouts due to generating constraints.

According to Eskom, the new leader will work with electricity minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa to help reduce the impact of load-shedding.

Last week, during De Ruyter’s appearance, Makwana told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the recruitment of the new CEO was being conducted behind closed doors, according to international standard practice.

“The process is going well. We have a number of solid candidates that are shortlisted and interviews commence on Friday [12 May]. We do not have a plan to conduct [the interviews] in public,” Makwana said.

He added that he was not aware of any processes that forced him to share the details of who the shortlisted candidates were before the process was completed.

“We have nothing in our memorandum of incorporation that mandates us to do so. I have no knowledge of anywhere in the world where an important process like this is being run in public,” he said.

Sources in the utility said they were in the process of selecting the top candidate for the job and would be finished before the end of June.

Last month, during the utility’s demand side management programme launch, Makwana said that five candidates for the CEO position had already been shortlisted.

Among those who are rumoured to have been interviewed are Eskom group executive for customer services Ayanda Noah, Dan Marokane who is acting Hullets CEO, as well as strategic adviser to the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities, Vally Padayachee.

Noah previously headed Eskom’s client services and distribution divisions. She is an engineer with decades of experience and is chairperson of the Central Energy Fund. She is accredited with the SA Engineering Council and is a member of both the SA Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Directors of SA.

According to her profile, she has a master’s degree in business administration from Wits University’s Business School, an advanced management qualification from Harvard University and a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town. She is a chair of the performance committee at Lesedi Local Municipality. 

Should she get the position, Noah will be Eskom’s first woman leader.

Marokane, who is acting as CEO of sugar producer Tongaat Hulett, is a chemical engineer with master’s degrees in petroleum engineering and business administration.

Before joining Hullets, Marokane was Eskom CEO, but was suspended in 2015 days after the first unit at Medupi Power Station was connected to the power grid. According toZondo commission testimonies, Marokane’s suspension happened to make room for Brian Molefe and Anoj Singh, who were linked to the Guptas.

Padayachee is a strategic adviser to the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities. He is an electrical engineer, who played a leading role in setting up the rules for load-shedding and is doing the same with the revision of the load-shedding document that will enable Eskom to increase its stages from eight to sixteen.

This is one of the most difficult jobs in the country with the institution on the verge of appointing its tenth CEO in ten years.

This article was updated to amend the outro.

Mandisa Nyathi is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa.