State-owned power utility Eskom has announced that chief information officer Sean Maritz has been placed on permanent suspension.

“Eskom's Chief Information Officer‚ Mr Sean Maritz‚ has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety‚” Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said on Twitter.

“He was placed on temporary suspension last Friday‚ which has now been converted into a permanent suspension.”

Maritz was placed on temporary suspension on Friday and had until close of business on Tuesday to submit reasons why he should not be suspended fully.

Maritz was acting CEO of the parastatal until the appointment of Phakamani Hadebe earlier this month.

Before he was removed‚ Maritz wrote a letter to global consultancy McKinsey‚ which stated that its R1.6-billion contract with Eskom for a turnaround strategy plan was indeed lawful‚ despite revelations that the contract was invalid. Of the total amount‚ R595-million was paid to Gupta-linked Trillian.