Eskom Head in China as South Africa grapples with acute outages

Eskom’s acting chief executive officer travelled to China, as the South African State-owned utility implements record power cuts that are hobbling the nation’s economy. Calib Cassim accompanied South African Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on the trip to Beijing, Chairperson Mpho Makwana said by phone on Wednesday, declining to provide further details. “The minister will address those issues via a press conference when he is back,” Makwana said. Gordhan’s department oversees Eskom. His spokesperson, Ellis Mnyandu, referred a request for comment to Eskom. The utility’s media desk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email. Gordhan travelled to China earlier this month to discuss an impasse that’s blocked the delivery of locomotives and spare parts needed to improve the performance of State rail and ports operator Transnet.