As South Africans grumble and curse about power outages, theres speculation aplenty about how Eskom got into such a parlous state. Especially at Luthuli House, where Eskoms problems are leveraged by expanding Opposition Parties which are extracting tons of political capital from the disaster. Those genuinely seeking solutions should reflect on a time, only two decades back, when Eskom was the fifth largest and lowest cost electricity provider on earth. Those were the days when Ian McRae provided leadership. The antithesis of todays political appointees, McRaes education included a five year apprenticeship; four years studying for his BSc degree; and two years of pupilage working in various departments. Born into the business (his father worked there too) at 31 he became the youngest power station manager in Eskoms history. He progressed through the ranks, but only at 56, after almost four decades inside the business, was he regarded as suitably qualified for the top job. In his superb autobiography, The Test of Leadership, McRae expresses gratitude for his 11 years of learning: Throughout my career I drew on this experience in various ways. I was able, even as Chief Executive, to sit down on a toolbox in a workshop and relate to staff. They also knew that I had been there myself and understood the issues. It always felt as if we were part of the same team. A prod, perhaps, for Eskoms shareholder: theres a whole lot more to running so complex an organisation than simply having the right political connections. Surely its time to return to sourcing Eskom leadership internally?
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:53:59 +0000
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