Fears new Eskom boss is a Zuma yes-man

Long-serving government bureaucrat Tshediso Matona has been appointed CEO of Eskom and is expected to change the strategic direction of the state power utility.

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown announced the cabinet's endorsement of his appointment in Cape Town yesterday.

But the decision has been met with some scepticism.

Matona joins Eskom at a time when it is struggling to fund a R219-billion infrastructure shortfall and is seriously behind schedule on the completion of its Medupi power station, in Limpopo.

Critics say Matona is a political appointee who was favoured ahead of suitable candidates working for Eskom and that he has insufficient experience for the job.

He was selected from a short-list of candidates submitted by Eskom's board.

Brown strongly defended Matona's appointment , saying his experience in the government would stand him in good stead in aligning Eskom's priorities "with those of President Jacob Zuma's administration".

Matona has a master's degree in development economics from the University of East Anglia, UK, an honours degree in economics and politics from the University of Cape Town, and certificates in infrastructure development from Harvard in the US.

Brown said that, with Matona at the helm, there would a change in the strategic focus of Eskom.

"We have to work a lot more efficiently and this is what I trust Tshediso Matona is taking us forward to do," she said.

"He has a clear understanding of which way the government would like to go."

Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix, said the cabinet should have appointed an internal candidate, as was done with former CEOs Jacob Maroga and Brian Dames.

"The government has been interfering far too much in Eskom's affairs instead of letting the utility operate with its own expertise and allowing it to do what it thinks is the right thing," said Jammine.