Eskom has confirmed that Andre de Ruyter has resigned as CEO of the state power utility, amid SA’s worsening power supply crisis and fragile electricity grid.
According to a breaking new report in News24, De Ruyter “notified board chairperson Mpho Makwana of his decision earlier in the week” who then informed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. Makwana is expected to take over from De Ruyter while a replacement is sought.
South Africa has been experiencing Stage 5 rolling blackouts after power station breakdowns and less money to buy diesel force Eskom to escalate rolling blackouts to Stage 6 last week.
The group issued a statement on Thursday evening (14 December) announcing the resignation, adding that De Ruyter will be leaving only in March 2023.
The Eskom Board confirmed that there is no plan for the Chairman to become an interim CEO and that a comprehensive executive search will be conducted to find a suitable qualified candidate.
Gordhan has been facing mounting calls in the past few months to get rid of De Ruyter, with the lasts call coming from mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe, calling for him to be replaced following the constant power outages.
Speaking to News24 in November, Mantashe said that De Ruyter lacked the necessary technical skills to turn Eskom around and said that not resolving the load-shedding crisis was akin to trying to overthrow the state.
Trade Union Solidarity and Business Unity South Africa lamented De Ruyter’s resignation.
But trade union federation Saftu and its affiliate- the national union of Metalworkers of South Africa- said they are overjoyed by this outcome.
Solidarity’s Connie Mulder said De Ruyter’s resignation was unfortunate claiming that he was used as a scapegoat for political failures.
However, Saftu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said De Ruyter’s exit was overdue.
“We’ve never seen these levels of load shedding and I know people will say it’s a history. No, he has been there since 2019. He had promised that we are going to see this behind us,” he said.
Numsa had also called for the suspension of public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan.
Source: Daily Maverick. Moneyweb, IOL,Business Tech, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @newsnotenetwork