By Antony Sguazzin and Loni Prinsloo
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Chairman Mpho Makwana said outgoing Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter behaved “reprehensibly” when he made accusations of theft and corruption within the state-owned electricity company.
De Ruyter said in an interview with local broadcaster e.tv, aired on Tuesday, that Eskom was losing about 1 billion rand ($55 million) a month due to graft and theft, with the involvement of people linked to the ruling African National Congress. A day later, Eskom announced that De Ruyter would leave the company with immediate effect, instead of the previously scheduled end date on March 31. He resigned in December.
De Ruyter hadn’t discussed the majority of his allegations with the board, Makwana said in an interview with Radio 702 Thursday. The CEO spent his time “chasing renewables” rather than focusing on fixing existing coal plants, and avoided a performance review by resigning just before it, said Makwana.
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De Ruyter has led Eskom for a turbulent three years, cracking down on corruption that pushed the company’s debt to more than 400 billion rand and has led to frequent breakdowns of its coal-fired power plants and consequent power blackouts. South Africa’s finance minister said this week that the state would take over part of Eskom’s debt provided certain conditions were met.
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