Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter resigned this week. His last day in office will be 31 March 2023. (Deaan Vivier)
- André de Ruyter has been backed into a corner by politicians – one who accused him and Eskom of treason, while the others have remained silent.
- The lack of objective and honest assessment of the state of Eskom and the ANC‘s role has made it untenable for De Ruyter, who holds no political affiliation, to remain.
- News24 has learned from Eskom sources the new board, apparently executing a mandate from a member of the executive, undermined and frustrated De Ruyter.
Eskom boss André de Ruyter, who resigned as Eskom’s group chief executive, was seemingly gradually sabotaged by the company’s board after its appointment in October, with the chairperson neglecting to sign crucial documents to assist in alleviating load shedding.
News24 has established that shortly after Mpho Makwana was installed as chairperson of the board, De Ruyter sent him a document for his signature to approve the procurement of 585 MW of electricity from existing suppliers.
The document was never signed, and the procurement of the extra capacity has not yet happened. South Africa currently remains in the grip of load shedding between stages 4 and 6.
In the past week, De Ruyter has been excluded from crucial meetings and it has emerged the board and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan have seemingly dealt directly with senior Eskom staff – bypassing the company’s chief executive.
This information is based on a range of sources inside Eskom and with knowledge of recent events.
EXCLUSIVE | De Ruyter: ‘This job is impossible given the current state, form of Eskom’
De Ruyter resigned from his position as group chief executive on Wednesday. He was not available for comment. Eskom issued a statement in which Makwana and Gordhan both thanked him for his service.
It follows a series of public attacks on De Ruyter by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe. He said last week Eskom was “actively agitating for the overthrow of the state.” Neither Gordhan nor President Cyril Ramaphosa defended De Ruyter or Eskom.
The ANC goes to its national conference this week, amid a clamour in the party for the government to bring an end to load shedding. A number of ANC leaders, as well as the EFF, welcomed De Ruyter’s decision last night.
The board’s interference in operational matters started almost immediately upon its appointment in October, News24 has established.
Gordhan has also directly phoned Eskom officials to confirm what he was being told by management, according to information from Eskom managers with direct knowledge of the incidents. He denied improper interference, but confirmed that he has been in touch with senior Eskom officials in the recent past. “I speak to whomever I need to in order to get information if other officials aren’t available, yes, including people like Rhulani Mathebula (former head of Generation, recently resigned),” Gordhan told News24.
Within two months of being in place, members of the new board started requesting details of tenders, including specifications, and overhauling existing performance targets – such as achieving 70% energy availability factor (EAF) by April next year.
Gordhan himself has imposed a 75% EAF target, which was “equally unrealistic”, according to several Eskom officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Eskom sources in the senior echelons of the company reacted with dismay to the news of De Ruyter’s imminent departure. Others said they had been expecting this after the public comments by ministers and the lack of support from other quarters.
Political mandate
Involvement in operational issues is well outside the board’s official powers, but News24 understands both the board and the Cabinet minister seem to have overstepped the bounds in recent times.
The board has also apparently undermined De Ruyter and his ability to manage Eskom.
Examples of this include:
- Makwana’s delay in pushing through the appointment of candidates for the board of the newly formed National Transmission Company. Eskom provided a list of internationally experienced people to the department of Public Enterprises in February 2022, but appointments have yet to be made. News24 understands Makwana is sitting with a list of candidates, but it is unclear if any of the truly independent candidates have made the cut.
- Makwana sitting on documents that need to be signed to enable Eskom to purchase 585 MW of electricity from private producers – electricity that is already being produced by various Eskom customers. The documents were provided to Makwana in October.
- During recent crisis meetings between Eskom and the Presidency when it was decided to delay the shutdown of Koeberg Unit 1 by a few days to stave off stage 7 or 8 load shedding, De Ruyter was not told about the meetings, and was not asked to sit in.
- The extraordinary and factually flawed attacks by Mantashe, accusing Eskom of “agitating for the overthrow of the state” by “not resolving” load shedding, for which De Ruyter was not defended publicly.
- The board also dressed De Ruyter down in a meeting shortly after, in November, chief operations officer Jan Oberholzer told the country the utility had no more funds for diesel, having spent more than R12 billion already since 1 April 2022. De Ruyter is said to have been berated by the board and was apparently told an “interpreter” was needed to communicate to South Africans.
Makwana read but did not respond to questions sent to him on Wednesday. He also did not respond to phone calls.
De Ruyter and his executive have faced sustained sabotage campaigns at power stations, with slow or no progress by the police or State Security Agency to investigate and prevent instances of sabotage.
He has also faced baseless allegations and investigations after being accused of racism and corruption. While he was cleared after numerous official probes, the time taken in preparing responses for the numerous processes was detrimental.
His removal places in doubt major anti-corruption reforms and investigations that he helped oversee.
Funding at risk
De Ruyter and former Eskom executive Mandy Rambharos were also instrumental in securing $8.5 billion (R130 billion) in financing from wealthy nations for South Africa’s Just Energy Transition – a strategy that will see renewable energy power sources built in a way that would justly include workers who support their families working in the coal industry, including coal-fired power stations.
With De Ruyter’s departure, this funding may now be at risk. News24 understands representatives of these nations held confidence in De Ruyter and his ability to limit the opportunities for corruption in the projects eventually funded with their money.
De Ruyter’s warnings that Eskom needs to urgently pivot to building greener energy sources, at least 5000 to 6000 MW of it, have been met with scepticism from Mantashe and his allies. It is realistically the only option South Africa has, as major funding institutions will not be willing to fund any further coal projects, including major repairs to existing stations.
More than half of South Africa’s annual exports will also in future be subject to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, effectively carbon tax, due to the high levels of emissions in the country – of which coal-fired power stations are the major contributor.
In Eskom’s statement, Makwana confirmed De Ruyter’s last working day would be 31 March 2023.
Discussion about this post