African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe on Tuesday warned that the current events surrounding electricity utility Eskom should not be simplified into a racism issue.

"Everybody must be careful. If there's a crisis, they begin to be personal and begin to go to the lowest level of irrationality," Mantashe told SABC radio news.

"By beginning to accuse (Bobby) Godsell of being a racist... we know that is far from the truth. We begin to talk of [Eskom CEO Jacob] Maroga purely on the basis of blackness. We must focus on the crisis and try and address that crisis," said Mantashe.

The Black Management Forum hinted at racism after Godsell announced on Thursday that Maroga had resigned from his position.

But since then, Maroga has returned to his job while Godsell himself resigned on Monday.