Eskom is without a group chief executive after a late night announcement that Andre De Ruyter would leave the power utility with ”immediate effect”.
It follows the convening of a special Board meeting Wednesday. He was due to leave at the end of March.
This announcement comes after a broad-ranging explosive interview with journalist Annika Larsen on e.tv this week, in which De Ruyter talked at length about what he sees as entrenched corruption within government and governance around Eskom.
Eskom has not drawn a link between the interview and the announcement that De Ruyter would not serve out his notice period, although many commentators are of the view that de Ruyter was forced out ahead of his resignation notice period because of his courage in speaking out.
You can watch the full interview HERE.
Among the staggering claims De Ruyter made, is that a State Security Agency (SSA) operative was sent to watch him at COP27, the United Nations climate change conference, in Egypt last November.
Speaking about law enforcement’s response to criminal issues at Eskom and its power stations, De Ruyter spoke about his disappointment in both the South African Police Service and the SSA.
“If you look at state security, this is an existential threat to the state. My non-legal definition of treason is if you take money to do something that is to the detriment of the state,” De Ruyter said in the interview.
“There are acts of treason going on on a daily basis in Mpumalanga and state security are missing in action. They did see fit however, to send one of their agents to COP27 to keep an eye on me.”
According to De Ruyter, a friend of his asked the reported agent what he was doing there, to which the operative allegedly replied that he was just “keeping an eye on the big guy”.
“Clearly, I am under suspicion of treasonous activity, but the real culprits can act with impunity,” De Ruyter remarked.
Responding to the allegation that an agent was sent to watch De Ruyter, SSA spokesperson Mava Scott told News24 that the law prohibits the agency from discussing matters of an operational nature with third parties.
De Ruyter also spoke about his disappointment in police and referenced an alleged incident in which an Eskom buyer was arrested after it was found that he had been buying knee pads for R80 000 a pair, when the same pads could be bought for around R320 from Builders Warehouse.
The Eskom boss said the suspect was released a day later with no charges brought against him on the instructions of a senior police officer.
“You have to say, how is this possible? I think it’s fair to say the response of the South African police has been disappointing.”
He did, however, add that intelligence had been shared with select officers, but that the investigation was not popular internally.
In another case of criminality, De Ruyter said there were four sophisticated and well-organised cartels operating within Eskom in Mpumalanga.
Just watched @AnnikaLarsen1's interview with Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter on @etv and I am in awe. It's the most important interview you could watch as a South African today. https://t.co/Ubt6beQTYc
— Aron Hyman (@aron_hyman) February 22, 2023
#Eskom:
The #ANC “want what will win them the next election – not what will keep the country going for the next two decades” – André de Ruyter https://t.co/NxUPABRzu3— Pauli Van Wyk (@PaulivW) February 22, 2023
With: News24
