Eskom boss rubbishes opposition claims
Acting Eskom chairperson Ben Ngubane has rejected as “absolute rubbish” opposition claims that his appointmet to the post was influenced by politics.
He was reacting on Wednesday to the DA and other opposition parties’ scepticism over his appointment.
Referring to Ngubane’s appointment, the DA said political interference at the utility was “as clear as daylight”.
Ngubane has been at the helm of Eskom since Monday in his capacity as interim chairperson after Zola Tsotsi suddenly resigned at a board meeting. Tsotsi had been accused of “interfering” with management.
Ngubane’s term as chairman of Land Bank ended in December while he also chaired the SABC board before that.
He reiterated that he would only be in the Eskom position in the interim. “I am not the chairman. The government can at any point decide to appoint someone as chairman. I have been asked by colleagues to fulfil the role after Mister Tsotsi’s resignation.”
Ngubeni added that the sooner that government decided on a permanent replacement for Tsotsi “the better” it would be.
Over the criticism from the opposition, Ngubane said: “It is absolute rubbish. The government had nothing to do with my appointment. My colleagues asked me to take the reins. The government did not even write a letter saying it had taken notice of my temporary position. The DA is talking rubbish.”
Ngubane said the board decided that “after the experience with Tsotsi” that they would not be part of the operational management of Eskom.
“We will fulfil our monitoring role to ensure that management adhered to legislation. We will receive our mandate from the minister and will decide who will get contracts and who don’t. All the board committees will do their work,” he said.
Meanwhile, the EFF added its voice to the growing criticism against Ngubane’s temporary appointment and said they “rejected the irrational decision”.
“This regrettable appointment exemplifies a consistent pattern of recycling of the same problems that afflict the troubled power utility and many other public institutions where incompetent political deployees appointed to critical positions of leadership,” EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said.
The party said it was aware that Ngubane’s appointment was due to his proximity to President Jacob Zuma.
“President Zuma continues to bring the country down and disorganise state owned companies through nepotistic appointments of homeboys and homegirls. – News24
“Eskom is currently led by an acting chairperson, acting CEO, acting CFO and other acting executives. We cannot allow this Eskom soap opera to continue while the nation is reeling from constant power blackouts which have negative consequences on all the sectors of society and the economy.”
