uOriginally, André de Ruyter wanted to continue running South Africa’s badly hit state-owned energy company Eskom until the end of March. Now the manager, who many South Africans believe has the most thankless and difficult job in the country, has been released with immediate effect. Shortly before, in an interview with the e-NCA television channel, he had made serious allegations of corruption against high-ranking members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, but without naming names. On Thursday night, the supervisory board announced that both sides had mutually agreed on the step.
The 52-year-old de Ruyter, a manager from the private sector, took over the post in December 2019 to restructure the state-owned company. But during his tenure, a long-standing power crisis in the country has worsened dramatically. Since the beginning of the year, Eskom has switched up to ten hours a day on a rotating basis electricity because the old and insufficiently maintained power plants can no longer meet the demand.
Big frustration
Visibly frustrated by the task, de Ruyter had already announced his resignation in December. At the time, Energy and Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe accused him of helping to overthrow the state if Eskom continued to shut off electricity. Conversely, de Ruyter had repeatedly complained about sabotage, criminal activities within the group and a lack of political support. According to his own statements, the manager was also the victim of a poison attack in December. At the company’s headquarters, he was given coffee poisoned with cyanide. Several doctors have confirmed poisoning.
De Ruyter told the TV station there were signs some ANC members viewed Eskom as a “feeding trough”. “Not millions, but at least 1 billion Rand” (50 million euros). “stolen every month”. There were well-organized crime syndicates that enriched themselves immensely like a mafia. After the COP27 world climate conference last year, he also addressed a minister about his concerns about weak anti-corruption regulations in the implementation of an international climate protection program worth $8.5 billion. “Basically, the answer was that you have to be pragmatic, that in the interest of the common good, you have to give some people the opportunity to eat a little.”
billions of donor countries
Germany, Great Britain, France, the European Union and the United States pledged the 8.5 billion dollars at the previous climate conference to support a socially acceptable energy transition in South Africa. The initiative is intended to serve as a model for similar efforts in other emerging countries. Since then, Germany has initiated further loans, and South Africa’s government presented an investment plan at the end of last year.
The interview has sparked outrage at the alleged widespread corruption and alleged government acceptance, but also angry reactions from ANC politicians and some business groups. The association “Black Business Council” accused de Ruyter – a white South African – of seeking public attention. The Office of the President demanded proof of the allegations and spoke of an insult. It is known that the current President Cyril Ramaphosa is committed to fighting corruption. The opposition party Democratic Alliance wants to obtain the names of the accused ANC members through the courts.
complaint within days
On Sunday, the ANC issued a statement urging the former Eskom boss to file a criminal complaint within seven days so that law enforcement authorities could investigate the serious allegations and bring possible perpetrators to justice. It is a violation of the law for a person in a managerial capacity not to report a crime or information about it to the authorities. “To date, the ANC is not aware of any action taken by Mr de Ruyter in this matter.”
De Ruyter, on the other hand, said in the interview that he had repeatedly informed ministers and advisers to the President about suspected crimes and corruption in the company, but the reports had had no consequences. The police also failed to take action on several criminal charges. Later, only two lower-ranking officials, without specific specialist knowledge, dealt with the alleged poisoning attack on him. The special unit “Hawks”, which deals with cases of corruption, organized crime and serious crimes, was not involved.
An Eskom spokesman meanwhile announced that an interim boss would be appointed as soon as possible for the group, who would be responsible for almost the entire electricity supply in South Africa. According to information from the business newspaper “Business Day”, the supervisory board only started looking for a successor two weeks ago. An interested party has not yet reported publicly.
