đź”’ Premium: ANC plunder faction targeting De Ruyter – want him gone this week

START YOUR DAY BETTER INFORMED – HERE’S THE LINK TO TODAY’S EPISODE OF THE BIZNEWS BREAKFAST BRIEFING: Musk dumps Twitter; Rand hits R17; Warnings to SA corporates on remote work and hiring foreigners.


As we term them in the business, a “usually reliable source” tipped me off over the weekend that Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter is about to be stage-managed out of the worst job in SA. Apparently, pressure from the ANC’s Zuma faction for a more ‘politically acceptable’ replacement is irresistible. 

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

My inquiries suggest the source is onto something. But it’s not certain the tipping point has been reached. De Ruyter‘s removal would be poorly interpreted both internationally and locally. President Cyril Ramaphosa, although severely weakened by Sofagate, still makes the final call. He  knows the impact of firing AdR, so is holding the line. At least for now. 

It raises something much bigger. The mere fact De Ruyter’s position is under discussion within the ANC illustrates SA’s sick governance. Eskom is a State entity. It belongs to all citizens, NOT the ruling political party. And as we know all too well, it is we taxpayers who carry the can for its debts. 

Yet the ANC, the party which taxpayers entrusted with power, is not satisfied with having plundered a once proud electricity provider into penury. Some of its most powerful members now want to chop off the head of the first CEO in years who is not part of the problem. Because he won’t feed them. SA’s 2024 National Election cannot come quickly enough.      

More for you to read today:

WATCH: In this interview from Idaho, mining guru Peter major compares gold against its traditional alternatives – concluding that apart from cash, the yellow metal is offering great value right now.

NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS…

As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal’s credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner’s website via Biznews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you’ll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our helpdesk can assist â€“ [email protected]

Visited 177 times, 1 visit(s) today