Wednesday, 22 January 2020: Eskom has appointed seasoned financial
journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha to lead its media liaison team as national
spokesperson. Mantshantsha will take up the role on 1 February 2020.
André de Ruyter, Eskom Group Chief Executive,
announced the appointment to Eskom employees earlier today calling on them to
welcome Mantshantsha saying, “I am happy to announce Sikonathi Mantshantsha
will be joining the Eskom team, in Corporate Affairs, as our Media Liaison. His
appointment is a firm step from our side to strengthen our efforts to improve
Eskom’s image, to add another layer of success to our media response strategies
in order to be more direct and proactive when engaging with media and other
interest groups.”
Sikonathi has
extensive media experience and has worked within this industry since 2004.
Starting as the Chief Editorial Researcher at Media24, he later joined FinWeek and Fin24.com as a financial journalist for five years. In
November 2010, he was presented with an opportunity to join Bloomberg News
as the Equities, Industrial and Markets Reporter. Two years later he joined Business
Day and Financial Mail as an Investment and Energy Writer, a role
that saw him interact extensively with energy issues and with Eskom in
particular.
In 2015, Mantshantsha was promoted to Money and
Investment Editor and later became the Deputy Editor of the Financial Mail, where he remained until June 2019. In July
2019, he was appointed the Associate Director of the Daily Maverick &
Scorpio. Sikonathi is well respected within the media industry and has
shown increased growth and authority in each of his roles.
Before joining the
media, Mantshantsha worked for six years in the stockbroking and investment
industry. He holds certificates from the University of Johannesburg, Wits
Business School and the South African Institute of Financial Markets.
“We are pleased that
Mantshantsha has agreed to join Eskom at this pivotal moment, where our need to
create and maintain a positive public image of our company is at its peak,
where there is heightened need for effective and proactive strategies to engage
the media and other interest parties, and lastly to support the Board, Group
Chief Executive and members of the Executive Committee. His extensive media
experience, specifically within the energy industry will benefit his transition
into Eskom and allow him to adapt quickly to this dynamic environment. I,
together with EXCO, am convinced that he will certainly add another layer of
success to our efforts to change the fortunes of Eskom,” added de Ruyter.
De Ruyter ended by
thanking Eskom’s Deputy Spokesperson who has been fulfilling the role: “I would
like to thank Dikatso Mothae and the team that was supporting her while she
handled the responsibilities of an Eskom Spokesperson”.
ENDS