Sikonathi Mantshantsha appointed Eskom’s spokesperson

Power utility Eskom has appointed former Financial Mail deputy editor Sikonathi Mantshantsha as its national spokesperson, seeking to improve its public image amid huge taxpayer bailouts and load-shedding.

“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,” Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said in a statement.

Sikonathi has worked in the media since 2004, starting as the chief editorial researcher at Media24, he later joined FinWeek and Fin24.com as a financial journalist for five years, Eskom said.

In November 2010, he joined 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,” Eskom’s statement read.