Former Eskom spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantsha has joined News24 and will be part of the business desk.
The publication announced the news on Monday confirming that the award-winning financial journalist will join its team in April.
Formerly with Financial Mail as the deputy editor, Mantshantsha has been the power utility’s spokesperson for the past three years.
During this time, he earned respect for improving transparency at the embattled utility and for his frank assessments of Eskom’s operational problems.
He also worked for as a reporter at Media24’s financial publications Finweek and Fin24 in the 2000s.
Mantshantsha is the third writer-at-large to join News24 in recent months, following the appointments of Carol Paton and Phillip de Wet.
“Our readers will benefit from Sikonathi’s outstanding insights into corporate South Africa at a time where the country is relying on the private sector to solve some of its biggest problems,” says News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson.
“We are excited about providing our subscribers with his hard-hitting reporting and deep analysis of what’s happening in business.”
News24 has been investing heavily in its business coverage, which includes the appointment of award-winning senior financial journalists, including Paton, Lisa Steyn, Karl Gernetzky, and Nick Wilson.
This week, the inaugural News24 Business Awards will be hosted in Cape Town where five companies and a CEO will be recognised for their contributions to good corporate citizenship, strategic leadership, client service, and transparency.
BTA recently reported that Eskom has announced that spokesperson Mantshantsha is leaving the struggling power utility and his last day was February 28.
Mantshantsha joined the power generator in the last three years and he signed a fixed-term contract with the state-owned company.
“Sikhonathi has been the catalyst in Eskom improving transparency and frequency of information sharing, dealing with several difficult media engagements during his tenure,” said Eskom Interim Group Chief Executive Calib Cassim.
