Makwana’s departure ‘an indication that something not well’ at Eskom

The unexpected resignation of Mpho Makwana, chair of Eskom, has caused public panic and left many questions about whether the power utility has a deepening leadership crisis, or if there is any possibility of it returning to its former glory days.

Independent energy analyst Dr Lindsay le Roux said, following former Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter’s resignation this year, Makwana’s departure was unexpected and “indeed an indication that something was not well at the power utility”.

‘All is not well at Eskom’

Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa had said earlier: “By all indications, all is not well in the state of Eskom if you consider now the latest developments of the departure of the board chair.

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“It’s just a lot of instability and back-to-back resignations and departures of senior persons in various streams of the Eskom establishment,” Hlengwa said.

Le Roux said Makwana’s resignation had come shortly after Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan rejected a recommendation by the board, led by Makwana, for the appointment of a new Eskom CEO, citing procedural matters.

“If Eskom was on a good trajectory, then why did he resign, especially mid-roll-out of all these plans they had.

“It’s too much of a coincidence – that’s all I will say,” she added.

In a short statement, Gordhan announced that Makwana would step down at the Eskom annual general meeting, scheduled for the end of October, and nonexecutive director Mteto Nyati will replace him.

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Gordhan said the work to restructure Eskom and appoint new leadership was ongoing, adding: “Our efforts to stabilise Eskom and restructure it into three subsidiaries – generation, transmission, and distribution – remain on track.

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

‘Form of stability’

The South African National Energy Development Institute’s head of the energy secretariat Prof Sampson Mamphweli said government had softened the blow by appointing Nyati, who was not new to the board.

“It brings continuity, so you’re not going to have somebody coming from outside, trying to understand what this board is trying to do or trying to achieve, or trying to understand some of the plans that were made,” he said.

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“The incoming board chair is a person who has been there, who understands the processes they’ve been going through, who understands where they’re coming (from) and understands where they’re going.”

“So that brings some form of stability. I would urge government to keep it like that. When you look at the energy crisis, we seem to be going somewhere. We are slowly getting there.

“And there’s quite a lot of good work this particular board has done.”