Engineering News reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) on Monday raised objections to the appointment of Eskom chairperson Jabu Mabuza as interim chief executive, saying it intended seeking legal advice on the matter.  

Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan announced last week that Mabuza would serve as the interim CEO of Eskom for three months after Phakamani Hadebe's resignation left the position vacant.  In a statement, Numsa said that it would be irregular for Mabuza to be the chairperson of the board as well as the group chief executive.  The union also claimed Mabuza was not fit to chair the Eskom board because he was allegedly conflicted as his family business had interests in Eskom, both in the boilers maintenance and supply of coal.  Numsa added that it seemed that Mabuza was appointed to the role because he was one of the few executives trusted by the government to implement the mandate of restructuring Eskom to enable privatisation.  Last week, Eskom reported a loss of R20.7-billion in the 2018/2019 financial year.  The union repeated its demand that “their dismal failure to lead and manage this strategic SOE means that Jabu Mabuza, together with the entire board and senior executive management of Eskom must be removed."

• Read the full original of the above report at Engineering News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page