Ramokgopa gives Eskom chair Mteto Nyati three more years
The extension takes effect on 1 November 2026 and hands the utility continuity in governance as it builds on its recovery.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has extended the term of Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati by a further three years, a decision the power utility has welcomed as continuity in governance and strategic oversight.
The extension takes effect on 1 November 2026. Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane said it provides leadership certainty as the utility positions itself for long-term sustainability.
“We are rebuilding an economic asset for South Africa. The Board has played a critical role in strengthening governance, improving operational and financial performance, advancing the restructuring of the business and creating the conditions required for a competitive marketplace,” Marokane said on Friday.
According to the utility, the board under Nyati has overseen progress on both sides of Eskom’s dual mandate: commercially, to run a financially sound business, and developmentally, to keep South Africa connected, growing and inclusive.
In that period Eskom strengthened governance and accountability, improved operational performance, reduced its reliance on diesel-powered generation and returned to profitability, reporting profits in two consecutive financial years. It also advanced reforms aimed at long-term sustainability.
The board has overseen progress in separating Eskom’s businesses, including advancing the unbundling strategy, establishing and operationalising the National Transmission Company South Africa, and launching Eskom Green, its utility-scale renewable energy business.
Marokane said Nyati is well respected across Eskom and the industry, by the shareholder and by key stakeholders including organised labour, the investor base and the wider business community. “Eskom and South Africa are fortunate that Nyati remains available for this reappointment, and I personally look forward to continuing our strong working relationship,” he said.
Nyati said he accepted the request to continue with humility and a clear understanding of the country’s expectations, and thanked the Minister of Electricity and Energy, the Cabinet and the President for the trust placed in him.
“Over the past three years, Eskom’s employees have shown what is possible. They have proved that impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. They have lifted this organisation out of the worst crisis in our democratic history and brought it to a point where we now have excess capacity that can be used to drive economic growth,” he said.
He said he looked forward to continuing the work alongside his board colleagues. “We must now help our country industrialise and support industrialisation across the Southern African Development Community region. Eskom must be more than a supplier of power. It must be a platform for growth,” Nyati said.
The announcement was carried by SAnews, the South African Government News Agency, which is the source of the details in this report: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/eskom-welcomes-extension-board-chairpersons-term
That item is an official summary of the announcement rather than the full record of the Minister’s decision, and it does not set out the terms of the extension beyond its three-year length and 1 November 2026 start date.
