ANC YL TOTALLY SUPPORTS ESKOM CEO, JACOB MAROGA DESPITE ATTEMPTS TO UNDERMINE HIM

The African National Congress Youth League joins the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in our principled support for Jacob Maroga, the Chief Executive Officer of ESKOM (see statement). The South African government under the leadership of former President Thabo Mbeki has since accepted responsibility and apologised for the challenges confronting ESKOM, and shifting blame to the Jacob Maroga is not only opportunistic, but plays into the hands of white racists in the ESKOM Board who want to displace him for ulterior motives.

Jacob Maroga has been consistent in managing ESKOM and always sought to ensure that South Africans have access to energy, amidst the Thabo Mbeki led government's refusal to invest in electricity. We should never agree to be drawn into narrow battles and in the process be blinded of the broader developmental programmes that ESKOM should provide. There is nothing substantial, which suggests that Jacob Maroga has mismanaged ESKOM.

The question of Jacob Maroga's salary increase to be in line with those of other Chief executives should be debated separately and not confused with whether he has performed well as ESKOM CEO or not. These are two separate and mixing them has potential to blind us to the transformation challenges confronting ESKOM in the current conjecture.

Those who are setting the ESKOM CEO for failure should be aware that we are constantly watching and will expose the counter-transformation programme they are pursuing. Jacob Maroga is the CEO of ESKOM and he should be left that way.

Statement issued by the African National Congress Youth League, September 16 2009

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