Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana resigns

Eskom Board chairperson Mpho Makwana has resigned from his position as a non-executive director of the Eskom Board at the AGM as of the end of this month.

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, announced on Monday evening after Makwana was appointed in September last year.

During his appointment when South Africans were constantly living in the dark, Makwana said Eskom’s immediate priority was to “keep the lights on”.

Mteto Nyati appointed as new chairperson

In a statement, Gordhan said that Mteto Nyati will be appointed as the chairperson, while Makwana uses the rest of October to hand over to the new chairperson.

“I am grateful for the opportunity afforded to me by the government of the Republic of South Africa to serve a second term as chairperson of the Board of Directors of Eskom SOC Limited,” Makwana said.

“I wish Eskom and its people success and thank its committed stewards for their unstinting efforts to revive the utility.”

Makwana thanks Gordhan

He thanked the minister for the “positive amicable” manner in which they concluded Makwana’s tenure.

“We wish to thank Mr Makwana for this contribution during the most difficult time for Eskom. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” Gordhan said.

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The minister added that the department’s efforts to stabilise Eskom and restructure it into three subsidiaries remain on track.

“As government, we are committed to ensuring that Eskom has the right skills, talent, and experience to support our pursuit of a more secure energy future for South Africans,” Gordhan said.

Power vacuum

Makwana’s resignation comes amid a time when Eskom has been without a CEO for nine months.

This comes after former CEO André de Ruyter departed the power utility in February.

Former chief financial officer Calib Cassim was appointed at the end of February to fill the void for a six-month interim period.