The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Congress of the People (COPE) say they expect the new group chief executive officer at Eskom to have extensive knowledge of electricity generation.
Their remarks come after confirmation by the Eskom board that they concluded the interview process and will announce the new CEO in due time.
Former CEO Andre de Ruyter left the organisation earlier this year.
After his departure, De Ruyter revealed a number of corrupt activities in the organisation implicating a high-ranking politician.
This led to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in Parliament calling Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to give account on the allegations.
“De Ruyter is not a messenger. He was in charge of an institution. He was responsible in terms of his contractual obligations by virtue of also his position as CEO for whatever he did or did not do and his expressions about corruption are nothing new. We have all said it before his time, during his time and we will say it even after his time. Which is the point I was trying to illustrate earlier on, there is nothing new there,” said Gordhan in response to the allegations.
Acting Eskom Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena confirmed that the process of interviewing the people who applied for the position has been completed.
Extensive energy knowledge
Political parties in Parliament say De Ruyter’s replacement should have extensive knowledge of the energy sector at large.
DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia says the new CEO must be an expert in the electricity business.
ACDP MP Steve Swart echoed the DA’s sentiments, while COPE spoke out firmly against the African National Congress (ANC) cadre deployment strategy.
Full details in the report below:
