Johannesburg - Eskom head of generation Matshela Koko was on Wednesday finally chosen as outgoing chief executive Brian Molefe’s temporary replacement, paving a way for what insiders consider a permanent move to the helm of the utility.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said Koko would become the utility’s acting chief with effect from Thursday, after she gave the nod to the board’s recommendation.
Koko’s appointment follows Molefe’s abrupt resignation earlier last month in the aftermath of the former Public Protector’s report on state capture.
It questioned Molefe’s proximity to the politically connected Gupta family and showed that Molefe and Ajay Gupta, the eldest of the Gupta brothers, had made 58 telephone calls to one another in the period between August last year and March this year.
“I approved the board’s request to appoint Koko as acting group CEO. Koko has a wealth of experience and understands the challenges Eskom faces. His appointment will also ensure continuity at Eskom,” said Brown.
She said she had asked the Eskom board to immediately start the process to appoint a permanent chief executive “and that this process needs their urgent attention. Koko must ensure that the current trajectory at Eskom continues". An Eskom veteran, Koko is considered a front runner for the position.
Vocal
He has been vocal about Eskom’s future role in the mooted nuclear build programme, going as far as contradicting government positions at times.
Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela narrated Koko’s role in the stand-off between Eskom and Glencore, the previous owners of Optimum Coal, the entity that was eventually bought by Tegeta Exploration and Resources. The report suggested that Eskom had bent backwards to accommodate Tegeta.
According to Madonsela’s report, Koko chaired a November 24, 2015 meeting between Eskom, Optimum Coal and Oakbay, Tegeta’s parent company. The purpose of the meeting was to seek the support of Eskom for the sale of Optimum to Oakbay.
The report also said Koko signed off an agreement in terms of which Eskom agreed to make advance payments of more than R659 million to Tegeta to facilitate coal supply to the Arnot power station.
Koko has also been vocal about Eskom’s capabilities as a designated procurer for the new nuclear programme. In September he said Eskom could pay for the nuclear build programme by cash reserves, which he said would have accumulated to R150billion in 10 years’ time.
At a recent briefing to announce the draft Integrated Energy Plan and the draft Integrated Resource Plan, Koko insisted that Eskom intended to proceed with request for proposals for the nuclear programme, despite the new energy timeline suggesting that South Africa would only need nuclear power by 2037.
Read also: Eskom leadership: Koko tipped to succeed Molefe
Eskom, however, said its plans were closely aligned to a base case scenario that took into account efforts to reduce carbon emissions and annual constraints on bringing renewables into the electricity grid.
The scenario required the first nuclear unit by 2026, hence the decision to proceed with the request for proposals, according to Eskom.
Koko joined Eskom in September 1996 as an engineer-in-training. He has occupied various positions in the utility, including boiler plant engineer manager and pressure parts engineer, senior manager: powerplant engineering, enterprises division, senior manager: engineering, generation division, divisional executive: group technology, and group executive technology and commercial.
During his tenure as head of the technology and technical business, Koko was among a group of executives suspended by the Eskom board. When he returned to the utility, he became part of a core team that Molefe assembled with the immediate task of, among others, stabilising Eskom generation performance.
DA spokeswoman Natasha Mazzone yesterday criticised Koko’s appointment, denouncing it as a recycling of executives, instead of infusing new blood into Eskom.
“It is hardly surprising that Koko becomes the successor to Molefe as both have been outspoken regarding the nuclear project and both are fully supportive of Eskom taking charge of the nuclear build programme", Mazzone said.