"Mr Mabuza tendered his resignation today, Friday January 10, 2020. In his resignation letter Mr Mabuza apologised for Eskom’s inability to meet the commitment it made to the president, the deputy president and the relevant ministers at a meeting on December 11, 2019 to avoid load-shedding [over the festive season]," said Ramaphosa via a statement. 

At the December meeting, Eskom presented plans to ensure that the risk of load-shedding would be eliminated during the holiday period, until January 13. The company also outlined the risks affecting the national grid.

"As the minister assigned responsibility for Eskom, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has accepted Mr Mabuza’s resignation."

Ramaphosa expressed his gratitude to Mabuza for serving Eskom and the nation during a challenging period. He commended Mabuza for "taking responsibility and accepting accountability for events under his leadership".

Government continued to support the measures being taken by Eskom to restore reliable electricity supply as a matter of priority, said the president, and was proceeding with measures to introduce new generation capacity – including self-generation – in the shortest possible time.

"In the wake of Mr Mabuza’s resignation, government will soon announce a re-configured Eskom board with the appropriate mix of electricity industry, engineering and corporate governance experience."

Ramaphosa wished Mabuza well in his future endeavours.  

African News Agency