Eskom CEO position shouldn’t need to be advertised – Maroga

Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga said that Eskom shouldn’t have needed to advertise for the CEO position as a system should have created candidates ready to step into the role.

Speaking at an ABSA budget review event, Maroga said the country couldn’t be left “stranded” without knowing who the next Eskom CEO would be.

He argued that a systemic failure has resulted in a lack of viable candidates ready to take the CEO role. It is the failure of the Eskom system that needs to be addressed.

“As long as we believe South Africa’s problems are going to be solved by single heroes, we will be here for a long time,” he said.

Eskom first advertised for the new Eskom CEO at the start of February, two months after De Ruyter announced he would be stepping down.

However, De Ruyter left the power utility with immediate effect three weeks ago following his explosive interview on eNCA.

Eskom said the decision followed the convening of a special Board meeting on 22 February 2023.

Shortly afterwards, Eskom announced the appointment of Calib Cassim as Interim Group CEO with immediate effect. Cassim will lead the Eskom management team until further notice.

Despite Eskom’s leadership challenges, Maroga believes that the situation can be turned around.

“The leadership question should not be is it salvageable. The leadership question is how do we turn it around.”

The leadership attitude at Eskom needs to focus on turning “the biggest problem into the biggest opportunity,” he said.