South Africans have become somewhat numb to outrageous developments at State-owned companies. But the decision of the Eskom board to reinstate Brian Molefe as CEO was sufficient to shock just about all of society – government, business, labour, civil society and even the governing African National Congress. With so many problems still facing the power utility, the appointment adds a new undesirable load that should be swiftly shed – something Eskom used to be expert at.