The cabinet has called on public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to try to convince newly appointed Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to start his job earlier than planned.
Minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu said this was one of the decisions made by the cabinet after a meeting on Friday.
De Ruyter was appointed a month ago, and was due to start in the position in January next year.
“Cabinet fully supports all efforts meant to ensure electricity supply certainty in our country. In this regard, cabinet has mandated public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to negotiate with the CEO [of Eskom], Mr Andre de Ruyter, to commence his duties earlier than the set date.
“Mr De Ruyter, together with his management team, will immediately deal with the concerning issues of governance, lack of financial management as well as stabilise the operations of Eskom. This includes dealing with the huge backlog of maintenance of the ageing fleet of their power stations and the structural defects in Medupi and Kusile power stations,” Mthembu said.
He also announced that deputy president David Mabuza would revive the “energy war room” to deal with challenges to the country's energy supply.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni, minerals and energy minister Gwede Mantashe and Gordhan would make up the war room team.
It was also announced that the cabinet wanted renewables to “play a key role in our energy supply to complement the efforts of Eskom”.
Cabinet wants new Eskom boss De Ruyter to start his job early
The cabinet has called on public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to try to convince newly appointed Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to start his job earlier than planned.
Minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu said this was one of the decisions made by the cabinet after a meeting on Friday.
De Ruyter was appointed a month ago, and was due to start in the position in January next year.
“Cabinet fully supports all efforts meant to ensure electricity supply certainty in our country. In this regard, cabinet has mandated public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to negotiate with the CEO [of Eskom], Mr Andre de Ruyter, to commence his duties earlier than the set date.
“Mr De Ruyter, together with his management team, will immediately deal with the concerning issues of governance, lack of financial management as well as stabilise the operations of Eskom. This includes dealing with the huge backlog of maintenance of the ageing fleet of their power stations and the structural defects in Medupi and Kusile power stations,” Mthembu said.
He also announced that deputy president David Mabuza would revive the “energy war room” to deal with challenges to the country's energy supply.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni, minerals and energy minister Gwede Mantashe and Gordhan would make up the war room team.
It was also announced that the cabinet wanted renewables to “play a key role in our energy supply to complement the efforts of Eskom”.