Jabu Mabuza resigns as Eskom chair after load shedding was not avoided

The presidency said Mabuza had apologised for Eskom’s inability to meet the commitment it made to the president, the deputy president and the relevant ministers at a meeting on 11 December to avoid load shedding until mid-January.

“At this meeting, Eskom presented plans to ensure that the risk of load shedding would be eliminated during the holiday period until 13 January 2020. Eskom also outlined the risks affecting the national grid,” said presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan had accepted Mabuza’s resignation.

Ramaphosa expressed his gratitude to Mabuza for “serving Eskom and the nation during a challenging period and has commended Mabuza for taking responsibility and accepting accountability for events under his leadership”.

“Government continues to support the measures being taken by Eskom to restore reliable electricity supply as a matter of priority, and is proceeding with measures to introduce new generation capacity – including self-generation – in the shortest possible time.

Government would announce a reconfigured Eskom board with “the appropriate mix of electricity industry, engineering and corporate governance experience”.

Ramaphosa wished Mabuza well in his future endeavours.

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