DURBAN - Eskom Interim Group CEO Sean Maritz has set the record straight and requests for time and space to focus stabilising the company.
Maritz with the support of Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has asked for time and space to focus on executing his duties as mandated by the board of Eskom.
The executive management team remains focused on five initiatives that are priority. Those priorities are:
1. Increasing the demand for electricity.
2. Reducing primary energy costs
3. Implementing advance analytics to deliver savings.
4. Releasing government guarantees and
5. Ensuring the completion of the new build programme.
Maritz said that globally electricity is changing rapidly and Eskom is not immune to the change. He further added that they are facing threats on multiple fronts within the South African electricity market and within the broader global energy context.
Maritz has acknowledged the oversight of hiring his friend and fellow church member without declaring their friendship. However he has refuted claims that awarding the contract was irregular.
Read more here: Eskom interim CEO blames 'oversight' in friend’s R100K contract
He was given a six month written warning for the conflict of interest, however the warning has been expunged.
According to the Citizen Maritz also deleted evidence implicating the Gupta companies in dubious deals with Eskom. The information deleted from the server concerned suspended Eskom CEO Matshela Koko linking him to the Gupta's including Trillian and Tegeta transactions.
Maritz, who refutes the claims, said that the ITs security system was built in such a way that no email could be deleted.
The have also been reports that Maritz has been in contact with Koko which he also denied. Eskom has taken note of the McKinsey statements and the lawyers are taking care of the matter.