Energy15.07.2015

Eskom’s acting CEO gets contract extension

By News24 Wire

Electricity supplier Eskom announced on Wednesday that it renewed acting CEO Brian Molefe’s contract for a further three months.

“The Eskom Board is pleased to announce that, after consultation with the board of Transnet and the Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown, it has extended the employment contract of its acting Chief Executive, Brian Molefe, for a further three months.

“The contract extension is with a view of affording Mr Molefe sufficient time to put into effect the strategies he had already started implementing aimed at turning Eskom’s fortunes around in order to ensure its financial and operational sustainability,” the utility said in a statement.

NUM criticises renewal

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has criticised the renewal of Molefe’s contract with claims that the acting CEO failed to boost the morale of employees.

“While the media credits… Molefe with reducing load shedding, Eskom employees regards him as a dismal failure in terms of boosting their moral,” Paris Mashego, NUM energy sector co-ordinator, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“It is NUM’s view that load shedding must not only be attributed to lack of electricity generation and maintenance of the plants,” said Mashego. “The moral support of employees behind electricity generation is very critical towards the reduction of load shedding.”

The Eskom board told the Sowetan on Tuesday that Molefe’s contract had been renewed.

In response to the report, the NUM said it did not support the views expressed by the public enterprise ministe to employ Molefe on a permanent basis or extend his contract

“We want to put it categorically clear that Eskom board has never informed us that they had extended Brian Molefe’s contract,” the union said.

Since he joined Eskom, Molefe has never met with the NUM to present his plans of stabilising Eskom, the union said.

“It is our view as the NUM that the leadership vacuum in Eskom has discouraged, demotivated our members and employees at Eskom to be unproductive due to lack of proper and effective strategic direction,” the union said.

Source: News24