Jabu mabuza
Makgoba clarifies Eskom chair appointment announcement
On Thursday, he said he had received the news from his daughter in London and he has now moved to explain that he was referring to the public announcement, not...
This comes after Jabu Mabuza's resignation last week, in which he apologised for the power utility's inability to meet the commitment it made to President Cyril Ramaphosa in December to avoid load shedding during the holiday period.
The call by the DA followed contradicting messages from deputy President David Mabuza and the Presidency about how President Cyril Ramaphosa was misled by Eskom about load shedding.
On Friday Jabu Mabuza resigned as Eskom board chair amid reports that Ramaphosa was misled about the period of load shedding.
Eskom will implement load shedding from 9am on Saturday, a day after board chair Jabu Mabuza resigned over the utility's failure to meet its commitment of no load shedding until 13 January.
In a statement released by the Presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa noted that Jabu Mabuza had tendered his resignation on Friday 10 January 2020.
Last year, the nation got some insight into how Eskom wound up in the dire situation it was in.
Eskom board chairperson Jabu Mabuza said overdue debt owed to the company stood at only R1.3 billion in 2013. Fast forward six years, that figure now stands at nearly R30 billion.
The utility's debt has escalated by over R20 billion in just a few years, with chairperson Jabu Mabuza saying debt owed to the company stood at only R1.3 billion in 2013.
The power utility projected that it would lose R20 billion by the end of the year.
De Ruyter was expected to take over from Eskom board chairperson and acting CEO Jabu Mabuza in mid-January next year.
The power utility’s board chairperson said they expected to report a similar full-year loss this year as the one recorded in 2018.
Eskom board chairperson Jabu Mabuza said that the power utility would implement stage one load shedding on Friday and did not foresee the need for further power cuts thereafter.
Cosatu has called on government to fire the current Eskom board and its acting CEO Jabu Mabuza following the net loss of R21 billion the parastatal has suffered this year.
The tripartite alliance partner says board chairman Jabu Mabuza, who is also acting CEO, has proved that he is not fit for the job.
This came on top of the R21 billion after tax-loss that the debt-ridden power utility reported in July.
The power utility’s debt is reaching levels beyond R450 billion and Mabuza was in Parliament on Tuesday asking government for more money.
It was announced this week that that lifestyle audits on over 300 senior Eskom employees had been conducted to ensure they complied with its employment integrity and standards.
Eskom incurred a loss of R20.7 billion and amassed debt of R440 billion.