Eskom's chief information officer (CIO) Sean Maritz has been suspended.
Confirming the suspension this afternoon, Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe tweeted: "Eskom's chief information officer, Mr Sean Maritz, has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety. He was placed on temporary suspension last Friday, which has now been converted into a permanent suspension."
In October last year, the power utility appointed Maritz as interim CEO.
Following the appointment, the Sunday Times published allegations that Maritz had hired a friend and fellow church member at a salary of about R100 000 a month, without declaring their friendship.
The newspaper reported that in 2010, Maritz, then Eskom's IT manager, was slapped with a "written warning" for employing his friend, Andre Coetzee, in the same department on a six-month contract.
Before he was removed, Maritz wrote a letter to global consultancy McKinsey, which stated its R1.6 billion contract with Eskom for a turnaround strategy plan was indeed lawful despite revelations that the contract was invalid. Of the total amount, R595 million was paid to Gupta-linked Trillian.
Last week, he was given notice by the new board to give reasons as to why he should not be suspended by the utility.
The deadline for his submission was Tuesday.
Government recently announced the appointment of new board members "as an immediate measure to strengthen governance and management at the parastatal".
In its financial results announced yesterday, Eskom's profit was down by 34% and the utility's debt is sitting at over R300 billion.
Maritz was a top 10 finalist for the IITPSA's 2016 Visionary CIO Award in 2016. His Eskom career has spanned over 28 years.
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