Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, announced a new board for Eskom on Friday afternoon.

Mpho Makwana has been appointed as the chairperson of the power utility. The Citizen reports that Makwana is currently the Independent Non-Executive Chairman of JSE-listed Arcelor Mittal South Africa Limited as well as chairperson of the Nedbank group.

Makwana previously served as a non-executive director of Eskom between 2002 and 2011.

Mpho Makwana, seasoned board chairperson, has been appointed Eskom board chair. He is also chairperson of Nedbank. pic.twitter.com/8F37pyKJOT

— Ferial Haffajee (@ferialhaffajee) September 30, 2022

According to a media statement by the Department of Public Enterprises, the executive directors will be André de Ruyter, CEO of Eskom, as well as Calib Cassim, CFO of the power utility.

Gordhan said Dr Rod Crompton would remain on the board of directors “to ensure continuity.”

He said the new board brings broad experience, expertise and skills that will provide stability and strategic direction to Eskom.

“Their task will be to reposition Eskom to play a key role in the energy sector.”

The minister said the board will have to deal with immediate current load-shedding issues, procurement, elimination of corruption and ensuring that there is reliability of energy supply in the medium to long term.

BREAKING NEWS: Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan announces #Eskom's new board. pic.twitter.com/85oLU5vBjj

— Athi Mtongana (@AthiMtongana) September 30, 2022

Here are shortened CVs of the board members: 

Mpho Makwana – holds a Bachelor of Administration, B.Admin, EDP, Post. Grad Diploma, Retailing Management. He is currently Independent Non-Executive Chairman of JSE-listed ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited as well as Lead Independent Director – Nedbank Group Ltd (NDBKF.PK), Nedbank Ltd. Makwana serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba, Illovo SA (Pty) Ltd, Gibela Rail (RF) (Pty) Ltd.

He is Chairperson of SAFCOL SOC Limited and family-owned business Epitome Investments (Pty) Ltd. Non-Executive Director BioTherm Energy (PTY) Ltd; one South Africa’s foremost renewable energy companies. He served as Non-Executive Director of Eskom between 2002 and 2011.

Dr Busisiwe Vilakazi – holds a DPhil in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford. She is the Head of Research and Innovation at SITA and a former Senior Researcher at the CSIR. She has experience and skills in ICT Research and Innovation, Data Science & Analytics, Strategy, Digital Transformation.

Lwazi Goqwana – is an engineer by profession with 25 years of working experience in Manufacturing, Construction, Financial Services, Logistics, Energy and Government Services. Goqwana has worked for multiple organisation’s including Unilever, Tiger Brands, Barclays Africa, Transnet, and the Department of Public Enterprises.

Clive Le Roux – is a Chief Nuclear Officer at Eskom, an experienced Power Station Manager at Matimba Power Station, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. He spent last 10 years in Eskom as a Consultant (Greybeard). Le Roux has strong technical, operational, and human resource skills.

Fathima Gany – is a finance professional, registered as a full member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). Her career, which spans over twenty years, is predominantly in the role of Finance Leadership for Global, Multinational and State-Owned entities across Africa and Middle East. Her broad scope of authority as a senior finance executive includes Strategic, Corporate and Operational finance, Accounting, Treasury, Taxation, Contracts and Procurement, including public finance.

Ayanda Pearl Zinhle Mafuleka – is a Chartered Accountant. She is currently the CEO of FASSET implementing the strategic direction of the SETA. She is the former CFO of the National Credit Regulator.

Mteto Nyati – holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kwa- Zulu Natal. He is a former Chief Executive Officer of MTN SA, Mteto has held senior leadership and executive roles in multinational IT companies such as IBM and Microsoft. He is currently the Chief Executive at Altron. In 2004, he was named one of the Yale University’s World Fellows on Global Leadership.

Dr Tsakani Mthombeni – obtained a BSc, the MSc and PhD, both in electrical engineering. He served as an external examiner at the University of Pretoria, Cape Town and Stellenbosch University. He was the Chair of the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) of South Africa. Dr Mthombeni is Executive: Sustainable Development at Implats, where he is responsible for developing and implementing the Group’s Sustainable Development strategy. Prior to this role he was Vice President: Group Head of Carbon and Energy at Gold Fields, leading Gold Fields’s energy management and climate change strategy.

Leslie Mkhabela – has an LLB and is the Director and Chairperson of Mkhabela Huntley Attorneys. He is a member of the Black Lawyers Association with expertise in restructuring of state-owned assets, legal practice, commercial and administrative law, and dispute resolution.

Dr Claudelle von Eck – is an organisational development and change manager and the former CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors of South Africa (IIA SA). Oversight bodies she serves on includes DIRCO’s Audit Committee, MISTRA Board, Remuneration & Social Ethics Committees. She is a fellow member of the IoDSA and member of the COMENSA.

Tryphosa Ramano – is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce (BCom) and postgraduate diploma in Accounting and Finance. She is a corporate governance expert, strategist and has experience in financial services, manufacturing, aviation, and entrepreneur. She worked as a Chief Financial Officer in various companies and served as NED in various listed and unlisted companies.

Mr. Bheki Ntshalintshali– former trade unionist, is the former general secretary of COSATU having been elected in 2015. In 1994, Ntshalintshali was elected as deputy general secretary of the CWIU, but stood down the following year, to study in England. He returned to South Africa in 1996 and took part in the talks which merged the CWIU into the new Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union. Later in the year, he became the organising secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), rising to become deputy general secretary.