The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has confirmed that Ayanda Myoli has been appointed acting CEO at the troubled State-owned enterprise, following the departure of Don Robertson at the end of June.

Necsa tells Engineering News Online that Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has been informed of Myoli’s appointment, which became effective on July 9.

A mechanical engineer, Myoli has held various executive positions at Necsa over the years, having most recently played the role of divisional executive for engineering and technical services.

He also served as Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa CEO between 2010 and 2013.

Myoli’s appointment is the latest in a series of leadership changes to have taken place since December, when former Energy Minister Jeff Radebe dismissed the previous board, led by Dr Kelvin Kemm, and suspended Necsa CEO Phumzile Tshelane.

Radebe accused the previous board of being both inept and defiant and argued that it had failed to properly and prudently execute their statutory mandate.

The former Minister also raised serious concern about the state of Necsa’s finances and the way the previous board and executive team had managed these.

The new board was initially led Dr Rob Adam, who resigned from the position at the end of June, indicating that his full-time responsibility as South African Radio Astronomy Observatory MD meant he was unable to give Necsa the attention it deserved.

Necsa’s current acting chairperson is Pulane Tshabalala-Kingston, who was also appointed to the board in December.

Robertson, who is an industry veteran and the former MD of Necsa subsidiary NTP Radioisotopes, was initially appointed on a six-month contract. That contract was subsequently extended by a further month, but ended on June 28.

Myoli takes over at a time of severe financial distress at Necsa, with the organisation projected to report a loss of R294-million for 2018/19, following losses of R125-million and R133-million in 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively.

In April, the board published a turnaround strategy, which proposes a radical downsizing and restructuring of Necsa, including the sale and closure of certain units.

Necsa has confirmed with Engineering News Online that the document has since been withdrawn.

Nevertheless, Tshabalala-Kingston insists that the Necsa board is “seized with the financial sustainability of the organisation and we are doing our outmost to ensure that we come up with a way forward that is viable from the point of view of pursuing our mandate”.