Without question, the job of Eskom CEO is a difficult one. The organisation is large and complex. It has real operational challenges, associated partly with the age of its plant, partly with the age of its primary-input sources and partly with the material maintenance backlog that prevails. Its product is increasingly expensive to produce, but its tariffs are capped through regulation. Moreover, it has too little product and is rationing customers, while still justifying massive hikes.

The tight supply:demand balance has also undermined growth and is viewed as a key impediment to investment by local and foreign companies. Its assets exact a heavy toll on the environment at a time when the country’s environmental regulations and consciousness are increasing. It is building some of the largest megaprojects ever undertaken in South Africa, but these projects are behind schedule, over budget and have been prone to labour strife and accidents. Across its operating assets, it has skills shortages and, at times, the internal labour climate gets heated.

Then, there are the serious questions about its long-term financial sustainability and its ability to coexist fairly with new private electricity suppliers.

That said, the job is not impossible and should not be made out to be so. There are individuals, admittedly few, who are up to the management and leadership challenge.

There is one additional element, however, that has the potential to make or break the tenure of an Eskom CEO: politics.

In a recent interview with chairperson Zola Tsotsi, it emerged that, besides the personal work/life issues that underpinned Brian Dames’s decision to step down, he had also been unsettled by some of the poli- tics surrounding his job. Tsotsi explained that this related primarily to media reports that arose in the direct aftermath of the African National Congress’s elective conference in Mangaung in late 2012, which indicated that Dames was to be replaced. Developments such as these can lead to doubts, suspicion and even paranoia – insecurities that are not welcome when many problems are being dealt with all at once.

The thing is that most CEOs are equipped to deal with the management challenges associated with complex organisations. Many CEOs are also adept at handling the politics associated with their organisation, be it inside the office, or the increasing number of engagements that take place with external stakeholders. However, only a few are well equipped to navigate the politics of a South Africa State company, where factional politics elsewhere can have an impact on corporate culture and operations.

In the case of Eskom, even the slightest hint of daylight between the CEO and the Minister, or even the CEO and the chairperson, who officially oversees the corporate/political interface, can mean things go pear shaped. This is especially so in an instance where a debt-laden State entity is reliant on government guarantees to safeguard its credibility in the capital markets.

For this reason, it is going to be important that the new CEO has political support from the start and from the highest level. Whether or not this precludes a foreign candidate remains far from certain. What is certain is that the successful candidate will have to hit the ground running if he or she is going to deal decisively with the financial, construction and operational challenges confronting the utility. In the absence of a full and unreserved political mandate, this individual stands little or no chance of navigating these issues, no matter how competent or visionary he or she may be.