<P> On December 11, 2014 it was announced that President Jacob Zuma had assigned Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to oversee the turnaround of three state owned companies namely Eskom, the South African Airways, and the South African Post Office", all of which were in dire straits . </P> <P> On January 15, 2015 Eskom's then CEO Tshediso Matona admitted that Eskom's policy to "Keep the Lights on" meant that power station maintenance was neglected for years, and that South Africans will have to get used to electricity blackouts for the next four to five years . </P> <P> In late 2016, Standard & Poor's Global Rating downgraded Eskom's credit rating further into subinvestment cutting its long - term credit rating to BB - two levels below the investment threshold . </P> <P> In 2016, Matshela Koko, former head of generation for Eskom, was named as acting CEO . </P>

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