Department of Energy (DoE) director-general Nelisiwe Magubane vacated her post at the end of March, eight months ahead of her official November 30 contract expiry date, owing to health reasons.

In a surprise statement released on March 20, Minister Dikobe Ben Martins reported that Magubane’s five-year contract had been “redetermined”, as health considerations had become an “impediment in the execution of some of her duties”.

The Minister’s communications adviser, Robert Nkuna, told Engineering News that the decision had been made amicably and by mutual consent between Martins and Magubane.

The Minister wished his outgoing director- general well and thanked her “for her contribution to the Department of Energy and to the people of South Africa”.

Magubane was the DoE’s first-ever director-general, having assumed the post in 2009 when the department was separated out from the former Department of Minerals and Energy (DME). In the process, the DoE and the Department of Mineral Resources were created.

She was instrumental in overseeing some key projects and programmes at the department, including the “flagship” Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which has received international acclaim.

Tseliso Maqubela, who is deputy director-general: petroleum and petroleum products regulation, has been appointed acting director-general until a permanent replacement is found. Maqubela has more than ten years experience in the department, having also been a senior DME official prior to the demerger.

Nkuna offered assurances that Magubane’s departure would not affect the implementation of the DoE’s current priority programmes, stressing that the department was fortunate to have many “veteran” officials. Besides Maqubela, he made specific reference to deputy director- general Ompi Aphane, who has been involved in independent power producer (IPP) procurement processes, as well as the development of the Integrated Resource Plan for electricity.

Magubane’s departure comes as the market awaits details of the long-awaited procurement processes for new baseload and cogeneration IPP projects, which are expected imminently. Nkuna stressed that, should there be any delays, these would not be attributable to the departure of Magubane.

The director-general’s departure coincided with major leadership changes at power utility Eskom – CEO Brian Dames was also set to vacate his post at the end of March. Eskom is expected to announce an interim CEO soon, with the process to secure a permanent replacement still ongoing.