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Eskom still mum on Maroga  Comments
November 6, 2009


Johannesburg - Eskom had no further clarifying comment early on Friday about the status of its chief executive officer Jacob Maroga's resignation.

Godsell told staff on Thursday that Maroga had resigned, but the ANC Youth League disputed this, asking to see the resignation letter.

Godsell was to have briefed Parliament on the matter, but the meeting was cancelled apparently on the instructions of Parliament's portfolio committee on public enterprises chairwoman Vytjie Mentor. No reason was available at this time.

The Sowetan reported that Maroga offered to resign last week, but that he also wrote a letter saying he had no intention of resigning.

A secretary in Maroga's office referred queries to the media desk which said it did not know what the situation was.

Mentor said earlier on Friday that the Eskom board had the habit of "running amok" at critical moments.

"We need to be shown proof that he has resigned... there has been conflicting reports which insist that he has not resigned," Mentor said during an interview on SAfm.

"We are told it's the board [which is behind his reported resignation]. What is the role of the shareholder in this saga?," asked Mentor, adding that the matter was not good for the country or the utility.

The Black Management Forum said that state-owned enterprises were being turned into "slaughterhouses" for black professionals such as Maroga, who it believed had been pushed into resigning.

Social media sites crackled with comment reflecting on whether Maroga's predicament was because of his race.


One Twitter user wrote: "Strange to fire Maroga for ignoring a report. Is SA purging black leaders. Eskom woes started long b4 Maroga came. The board?? enuff said."

Another wrote: "Oh of course Malema will say the Maroga resignation is a racist one, of course. Yawn Julius, so boring now dude... Seriously!" of Malema, who was leading a delegation to Nedbank to discuss transformation concerns related to the banking group.

The Mail&Guardian reported that at a board meeting last week, Maroga offered to resign, and so did Godsell. Both were asked to leave the meeting and board elected to accept Maroga's offer and to keep Godsell, according to an unnamed source.

Maroga's "demise" was related to a report on coal procurement written by energy consultant Susan Olsen, they continued.

She warned Maroga six months before the electricity crisis of 2008 that Eskom's coal division would collapse under its own weight unless serious steps were taken.

She was fired by Maroga, and, the article continued, in his comments on the report, he wrote that there was a culture of white supervision at Eskom and that there was a view that blacks were not able to lead and achieve anything of significance.

"The manner in which the Olsen report was given status and attention is one example of white supervision mentality," he reportedly wrote.

That report included questions on why Eskom's coal-fired stations did not have long-term supply contracts. - Sapa
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Showing page 1 of 3 comment pages, 29 total comments
43 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Its a bleck thing... Yawn
43 Weeks ago Ryan wrote :
haha, well said Mike ... all the people screaming racism now are either scratching their heads or don't really understand what you are saying ... and for anyone that missed that, a majority black Eskom board "fired" their black CEO ... still racism right ? haha
43 Weeks ago Jeanne wrote :
This has nothing to do with race, just sheer incompetence. I wish to heck that the media would stop playing the race card at every single opportunity. The man did not perform then he must go, it wouldn't matter if he had been green, pink or blue. He can't do the job.
43 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
wow take the money and run thats what they all doing others just have a more slow motion approach i agree with one reader banana we have a list of mirrors all over Africa dig deeper, nothing but lies and empty promises fed up and the saddest thing is like watching a reallity show witnessing the SELF DESTRUCTION and it starts with a lack of basic services and the list goes on........idiots
43 Weeks ago borga gallego wrote :
mediocre politicians not live to create positive ideas to his people, but simply live by their image
43 Weeks ago PeterZ wrote :
Maroga might have been pushed to resign by the board but he was pushed into the possition by the anc without any experience except that of being black. Wat jy saai sal jy maai!
43 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
While the CEO is responsible for the daily management ect, the Board is actually ultimately responsible for ESKOM....so to the politicians I say recall the Board, Godsell, Moroga...... all of them. Replace them with competant people(not race based please) and put checks in place to CLOSELY monitor there progress...if not achieving results...chuck them and replace them too and keep going till we get someone who can do the job properly.
43 Weeks ago Blackout wrote :
Information shedding
43 Weeks ago JennyN wrote :
When, oh when are we going to move past this racism drivel. Eskom is going to drag ALL OF US into dire poverty and unemployment because of their complete incompetence. They were ward in good time that there was a crisis looming, but they chose to grab, take, pay themselves criminally high bonuses and then start shouting "Racism!" when the wheels fell off and the country is plunged into darkness. We have borne the brunt of their stupidity and greed and its just the beginning. The electricity price hikes that will (no doubt) be forced down our throats will cause serious financial hardship and unemployment. Of COURSE Moroga should be fired. So should Godsell. They should all be prosecuted and made to repay the millions they stole. They have managed to destroy Eskom and drag the country into financial mayhem, and still the die-hards shout "Racism". This is about incompetence and self-enrichment, people. While you whine about the fact that Moroga is black and we are calling for him to be fired, YOU AND I will have to carry the mamoth costs of his very major bungles. So he's black. So what. Build a bridge and get over it. Start to see what this is doing to the country, especially to the poor, and stop being so short-sighted.
43 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Hmmm .. its seems so easy now a days to blame everything on racism .. its pathetic.
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