Cape Town - Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi was undermined by withdrawal of public support by President Jacob Zuma, and his sudden departure raises serious questions around the status of the much-publicised inquiry he sought to initiate and the status of the four Eskom executives he suspended as part of that inquiry.
Serious questions have also been raised over the announcement of Ben Ngubane as acting Eskom chairman.
Tsotsi’s departure was announced in a board statement on Tuesday, with the power utility describing it as “amicable” and done in order to allow the board “to focus on the core issues facing Eskom”. His exit was also in the “interest of the company and the country”.
Tsotsi had been under pressure since the Eskom board opposed the terms of reference of his inquiry. An internal charge sheet that was presented to him to prepare his defence last week accused him of interfering with executive matters, including procurement, and he was questioned around the procedure to appoint consultant Nick Linell to oversee the inquiry.
Tsotsi had recently been reported to say he had Zuma’s backing for the inquiry, but the Presidency issued a statement on Monday in which it denied any such approval or support.
Zuma refuted Tsotsi’s claim that an informal conversation in a social gathering amounted to a tacit approval of his actions. This left Tsotsi badly exposed, and rather than undertake an expensive court battle, he opted to resign. Tsotsi did not respond to messages left on his cellphone.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Tuesday welcomed the resignation as “overdue” and reiterated their call for workers to be involved in key decisions on Eskom.
The Democratic Alliance, in a statement on Tuesday, welcomed the departure of Tsotsi, but said it would write an urgent letter to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown requesting that “she urgently address Parliament and the nation on the leaderless shambles that Eskom finds itself in”.
Ngubane has been appointed acting chair in a move which will be seen as a step backward, given his controversial tenure as SABC chair.
Meanwhile, it is not clear what the status of the inquiry is, nor the status of the four suspended executives.
Browne was due to respond to the latest developments, while Eskom did not respond to further questions.
ANA