Johannesburg City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava has expressed confidence in her leadership despite the growing scrutiny surrounding the state-owned power utility. In the wake of a damning auditor general’s report and ongoing allegations of corruption, Mashava insists that she remains relaxed about her position and committed to transforming the entity.
The embattled power provider has been at the center of multiple controversies in recent months, with reports highlighting financial mismanagement and questionable dealings within the organization. Investigative journalism platform News24 has also published a series of reports alleging widespread corruption within City Power.
Despite the backlash, Mashava maintains that since she assumed leadership in 2021, she has made significant progress in turning the organization around and modernizing its operations.
City Power CEO
Leadership Under Pressure
Mashava acknowledges that leading City Power is not without its challenges, particularly given the political and economic climate. However, she remains steadfast in her mission to reform the organization.
“I couldn’t possibly expect to sit on this chair and not have to deal with these types of pressures because the ones that came before me also had to deal with this,” she said.
She also pointed out that the upcoming elections have intensified scrutiny on public institutions, making her role even more demanding.
“There is always politics at play in the public sector, but one has to focus on their job at hand and do it to the best of my ability. The only thing I can do is to gain trust through transparency,” Mashava stated.
Her comments suggest an understanding of the political dynamics influencing the public sector, where leadership decisions are often entangled with broader governance and election strategies.
Revamping a Struggling Utility
Since taking over City Power, Mashava claims to have instituted significant structural changes aimed at improving efficiency and customer service. According to her, when she took the reins, the business model was outdated and in urgent need of a strategic overhaul.
“Personally, since I took over, we have flipped the organization upside down internally. We have made so many changes because the model was not working. The business model was obsolete,” she explained.
She emphasized that without change, the organization would have collapsed under its own inefficiencies. Among the key challenges was the lack of customer focus, as well as an over-reliance on Eskom and external contractors.
To combat these issues, Mashava led a drive to restructure contracts, replace executives, and implement a new operational strategy.
“We stopped certain contracts, we moved certain executives, we made some decisions that angered people internally and externally,” she said.
Backlash and Allegations of Corruption
Mashava believes that many of the criticisms directed at her leadership stem from resistance to change. She acknowledged that some of her decisions angered stakeholders, both within and outside the organization.
“When people are angered, sometimes they do things that are unexplainable,” she remarked, hinting that the negative media attention could be linked to internal disputes.
Although she did not directly address the allegations of corruption detailed in News24’s investigative reports, she maintained that City Power was undergoing a necessary transformation that would ruffle feathers along the way.
The recent auditor general’s report revealed financial irregularities within City Power, further intensifying public scrutiny. However, Mashava has not publicly responded to specific concerns raised in the report, instead choosing to focus on the broader strategic changes she has implemented.
Challenges Ahead for City Power
City Power has long struggled with operational inefficiencies, financial instability, and a reliance on Eskom. Its ability to provide stable electricity to Johannesburg residents has been frequently compromised by load-shedding, aging infrastructure, and revenue collection issues.
Mashava’s efforts to reduce dependence on Eskom and improve City Power’s financial sustainability are yet to yield clear results, and public patience is running thin.
The allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement have only added to the pressure on her leadership, especially as opposition parties and civil society organizations demand greater accountability.
Will Mashava Weather the Storm?
As the City Power CEO, Mashava finds herself in a high-stakes battle to prove that her leadership is making a positive impact. While she insists that she remains unbothered by the criticism, the mounting financial and operational challenges facing the power utility suggest that her tenure will continue to be turbulent.
With elections looming and public trust in state-owned enterprises at an all-time low, Mashava’s ability to deliver tangible improvements will be closely scrutinized. Whether she can turn City Power around—or become another casualty of Johannesburg’s ongoing governance crisis—remains to be seen.
For now, Mashava appears determined to stay the course, despite the growing calls for accountability and transparency in the management of one of Johannesburg’s most crucial public utilities.
