(See update at the end of this post.)

Has this man been fired by Eskom? I asked a few days ago why not even a token underling had been dismissed over the power catastrophe in South Africa. According to a comment on that post, however, Eskom did fire one underling last week Sunday, in the form of the “head of generation”.

By “head of generation”, I’m guessing we’re talking about Ehud Matya, the managing director of Eskom’s Generation Division, who earned R2.8 million for his efforts. There has been no media release, and no newspaper has reported this. Attempts to confirm the veracity of this report with Eskom have so far met without any response (though in their defence, it is Saturday morning).

Here’s what I’ve been able to discover about Ehud Nyameko Matya. Born in 1962, he became one of the first black engineering graduates on an Eskom bursary in 1986, according to a lengthy case study on Eskom by New York-based Ann Graham, published in strategy+business magazine under the absurd title, “The Company that Anticipated History”. (Granted, Graham probably intended to refer to the non-racial future of South Africa, but with hindsight that title is rather unfortunate.)

Matya has a B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. He also earned a Diploma in Business Management from Henley College in the UK, and holds a Certificate of Production & Inventory Management, according to his Who’s Who of Southern Africa entry. He has held various jobs at Eskom, including managing Duvha Power Station, and working his way through the Generation Division since 1998 to become its managing director in 2002, where he manages R200 billion in assets and 11 000 staff. In 1998, Eskom colleagues nominated him as executive manager of the year.

Early last year, he promised “no cutting of corners on maintenance“, which was one of many causes Eskom has cited for the recent problems. He has presented on extending the life of Eskom assets, which was one of the many causes Eskom has cited for the recent problems. He has been involved with ensuring adequate coal supplies for Eskom, which was one of the many causes Eskom has cited for the recent problems.

He has been quoted on occasion in the media, assuring us that everything will be just fine. During Cape Town’s initial power crisis in late 2005, for example, he said: “We have thoroughly discussed the energy situation with the City and believe that the action plan that we have developed with Eskom’s long term investment strategy will secure the City’s energy requirements for the long term.”

So perhaps he does deserve to go. One can’t help thinking, however, that Matya was just doing what he was told. That if he could have averted this crisis, he would have had to countermand his CEO, his board, at least two cabinet ministers, and probably the president himself. And he’d have had to loot the treasury for funds. One can’t help thinking that if he really has been fired, it’s a clear case of scapegoating and evasion of responsibility by Eskom’s board and the politicians that oversee it.

If true, Eskom’s sacrificial offering is pitiful. It should enrage the gods of public opinion, instead of appeasing them. And as for Ehud Matya, if he has indeed taken the fall for his employers after more than 20 years of loyal service, this episode would strengthen his CV, not weaken it.

Update, 2 February 2008 @ 12:30: Andrew Etzinger, general manager for demand-side management at Eskom, tells me that Matya has neither resigned nor been fired, but that he has been involved in a “reshuffle” of the executive committee. Still “part of the team”, Matya will now be responsible for customer contracts. Brian Dames, the MD of the enterprises division, has taken over responsibility for the new build programme, power stations, and coal and other raw materials, a brief which includes Matya’s previous responsibilities. A spokesperson for Eskom says that no resignations or dismissals have recently taken place at executive committee level or higher.

So all the graphics work to put Matya’s head on the spike appears to have been for nothing. Still, it beats the mug shot in Who’s Who, doesn’t it?

Now we’re back to the original question. Why have we not seen even token dismissals?

Nothing like a national crisis to expedite quiet crony deals on the side, is there?

Not long after a R20 billion power station contract for the planned Medupi plant in Limpopo was awarded to Hitachi, 15% of which would end up in the slush fund of Chancellor House, a company that exists solely to fund the ruling party, the Mail&Guardian reported on Thursday that another huge deal went the way of the ANC cronies.

This week it emerged that Eskom subsequently awarded the Hitachi consortium a similar contract, this time for “Project Bravo”, a second new coal-fired station. Bravo will be built near Eskom’s existing Kendal power station in Mpumalanga.

The Bravo contract was awarded without a further tender process. Earlier, Eskom justified its intended departure from standard procurement rules on grounds, among others, that it would save time.

Eskom has made no announcement about the Bravo contract, but construction giant Murray & Roberts let the cat out of the bag in a JSE regulatory announcement on Monday, saying it had “secured the construction contract to Hitachi for both the Medupi and Bravo boiler contracts”. Murray & Roberts is the Hitachi consortium’s construction subcontractor.

On Thursday a member of the Hitachi consortium, who asked not to be named, confirmed that Eskom and Hitachi had already signed the Bravo contract on December 14. The member said the contract was worth about R18,5-billion, slightly less than the Medupi contract but with similar arrangements.

Neat, guys. We’re proud of you. With all the raised eyebrows and corruption allegations, you never batted an eyelid. With supreme disdain you forwent even a token tender to hide your shame, but simply forged ahead with another fetid feat of, frankly, theft. Bravo, bravo.

Perhaps Naomi Klein should come visit South Africa (did you know we have splendid weather?) to take some lessons in “disaster cronyism”. See how it really works, and who really exploits whom.