At That Point
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

Government must seize opportunity to make Eskom board fit for purpose

20/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Eskom executives including Phakamani Hadebe (Group Chief Executive) at a public forum in Cape Town. 14 Januarie 2019.

​When Jabu Mabuza announced his resignation as Eskom board chair, President Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said government would “soon announce a reconfigured Eskom board with the appropriate mix of electricity industry, engineering and corporate governance experience”.[1]

Commenting on this statement, Parmi Natesan, CEO of the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) says that this opportunity must not be wasted. “The IoDSA has repeatedly warned that government must ensure that state-owned entities have boards with the right mix of skills to fulfil their mandates,” she explains. “One of the critical factors in the performance of our SOEs is the appointment of board members who have the necessary director competencies.”

“At the same time, it’s important to ensure some continuity so that institutional memory is not lost.”

It is thus critical that the board-nominations process is sound and transparent, and that there is good succession planning.

In a recent paper on the “Challenges facing Public Sector Boards”, the IoDSA tackles this and other issues. The IoDSA argues that government should adhere to governance best practice in appointing board members even if it is not obliged to do so. Best practice as outlined in King IV is for board members to be chosen through a rigorous nominations process that takes into account the skills and competencies the board requires.

“Even if it is not compelled to follow best practice, the IoDSA is adamant that it makes good sense for government to work closely with the board and specialist professionals to ensure that the individuals appointed have the skills that the board needs. These would include people skills, governance skills and sector-specific skills,” she says. “Government should resist the temptation to select the new board members on its own—proper consultation with informed people will help ensure the right people are chosen and begin rebuilding public trust in the organisation.”

Dr Simo Lushaba is a Chartered Director and facilitator at the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) and a co-author of the IoDSA’s paper. He says that proper due diligence of new directors is absolutely vital, and should ideally be conducted by a third party. He argues that this and other best practices are to the advantage of both the organisation, which will get the leadership it needs to prosper and government, which will benefit from the organisation being able to fulfil its mandate.

The IoDSA has been driving a successful programme to provide professional certification for directors. It is Chartered Director South Africa (CD (SA)) and Certified Director designations provide vetting that an individual has a certain level of competence in directorial skills—and that these skills will be continually refreshed. Holders of these certifications are also bound by a Code of Conduct and CPD requirements enforced by the IoDSA.

“Eskom is a lynchpin of the economy, and we will not reignite economic growth unless we can return it to health. A board that has the right mix of skills is the essential first step,” he concludes. “The same principle holds true of all our SOEs.”

[1] Qaanitah Hunter, “Eskom board chair Jabu Mabuza resigns over load-shedding”, TimesLive, 10 January 2020, available at https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2020-01-10-eskom-board-chair-jabu-mabuza-resigns-over-load-shedding/.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, 084 587 9933, [email protected],  www.atthatpoint.co.za
For more information on the IoDSA please visit:
Website:  www.iodsa.co.za
Twitter:  @The_IoDSA
LinkedIn:  Institute of Directors in South Africa Company Page  English: Eskom executives including Phakamani Hadebe (Group Chief Executive) at a public forum in Cape Town.
Datum14 Januarie 2019, 11:23:21
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the IoDSA Newsroom.
    IN THE MEDIA

    2023
    ​

    2 March
    Financial Mail: 5572bb70-29ab-48f8-b5df-79c7bb7f27dc.pdfIN 


    Archives

    May 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    702 Sun International CEO SleepOut™
    ABSA
    Accountability
    ACGN
    Advocate Fay Mukaddam
    Africa
    African Governance Showcase
    AGM
    Alex Granger
    Angela Cherrington
    Angela Oosthuizen
    Ansie Ramahlo
    Ansie Ramalho
    Audit Committees
    Auditor General
    Board
    Board Meeting
    Boards
    Budget
    Business
    CD(SA)
    Central Energy Fund
    CEO
    CEO Tenure
    Certified Director
    Chairman
    Chartered Director
    CIPC
    City Of Johannesburg
    Clover
    Companies Act
    COO
    Corporate Governance
    Corruption
    Cricket SA
    Delinquent Directors
    Director
    Directors
    Directors' Sentiment Index Report
    Disclosure
    Discrimination
    Dudu Myeni
    Economic Growth
    Eskom
    Eskom Board
    Ethics
    Executive Pay
    EY
    Fair Pay
    FEDSAS
    Fraud And Corruption
    Governance
    Governing Bodies
    Gupta
    Huge Group
    Institute Of Directors In South Africa
    Integrated Reporting
    IoDSA
    Johannesburg Property Company
    Karin Ireton
    King Code Of Corporate Governance
    King IV
    KingIV
    King IV Launch Conference
    Leadership
    Local Elections
    Management
    Mervyn King
    Mid-term Budget 2021
    Mini-budget 2021
    Municipalities
    Non-Executive Directors’ Fees Guide
    North West Cricket
    Parmi Natesan
    Politics
    Professionalising Directorship
    Property
    Public Sector Boards
    Ray Harraway
    Remuneration
    Remuneration Committee Forum
    Richard Foster
    SAA
    SABC
    SA Express
    SAPO
    School Governing Bodies (SGB)
    Service Delivery
    Shareholders
    Sikkie Kajee
    SME Growth
    Social Inequality
    SOEs
    South African Airlines
    South African Airways
    South African Forestry Company
    Stakeholders
    State Capture
    State-owned Enterprises
    State-owned Entities
    Succession Planning
    Sustainability
    Sustainable Development Forum
    The Ethics Institute
    The Institute Of Directors South Africa
    Transnet
    Trends
    Tsakani Maluleke
    UCT
    Vikeshni Vandayar
    Women
    Women's Day
    Zondo Commission

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News