Eskom will on Friday begin interviewing shortlisted candidates for the challenging position of group CEO following a protracted process after the resignation of Andre de Ruyter.
Eskom will on Friday begin interviewing shortlisted candidates for the challenging position of group CEO following a protracted process after the resignation of Andre de Ruyter.
This was confirmed by Eskom chairperson Mpho Makwana in Parliament today Wednesday while appearing before the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa).
Makwana was replying to a question from DA MP Alf Lees about what progress Eskom had made in permanently appointing De Ruyter’s successor.
He said they had identified a handful of potential candidates for the position and would soon begin the next phase, which is interviewing the candidates.
“We have made significant progress in appointing a permanent GCEO and we will begin with interviews on Friday,” Makwana said.
Makwana also refused Lees’s requests to conduct the interviews for the CEO position in a public platform like those of judges and the public protector.
He said he was not aware of any international or domestic institution of Eskom’s magnitude which had such a process, but admitted that there was no legal restrictions preventing such a process.
Last month, Makwana announced that the struggling power utility had shortlisted five candidates for the CEO position.
However, the identities of the shortlisted candidates remain confidential so that the process is untainted by external influences.
“We’ve been quite advanced in the shortlisting process for the next CEO of Eskom such that we now have a small shortlist of five candidates,” Makwana said then.
According to the advertisement published by Eskom at the end of February, the new group CEO must have a postgraduate degree in engineering, business administration, economics or a suitable qualification at NQF level 8 with 480 credits.
However, an undergraduate degree, with an MBA or other relevant postgraduate degree, would be an advantage.
In terms of experience, the prospective candidate must have at least 15 to 20 years’ senior management experience at executive committee level.
De Ruyter resigned from Eskom in December 2022 after three tumultuous years at the helm, but agreed to stay on for three months until the end of March to facilitate a smooth transition.
However, he did not finish his notice period after an explosive TV interview in February in which he made serious allegations of corruption against the ruling party’s politicians, and two unnamed government ministers.
Since then, Eskom has been searching for a suitable candidate to head the institution while chief financial officer Cassim Calib holds the fort in an acting capacity.
BUSINESS REPORT