Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter who resigned yesterday following an explosive tv interview in which he implicated among others, senior ANC officials including a minister in crime and corruption at the power utility, is said to be leaving South Africa for safety reasons.
de Ruyter, whose five-year tenure at the helm of Eskom saw the country plunge into the most drastic levels of load shedding in its history, is reported to have said he is being targeted after closing the taps on “billions on proceeds of crime”.
According to de Ruyter there were crime syndicates and politicians operating at Eskom that were draining the power utility dry.
de Ruyter’s interview has prompted the ATM to write to the Speaker and Chairpersons of the National Assembly requesting them to summon the Eskom CEO who resigned on Wednesday with immediate effect, to appear before Parliament and answer questions on corruption at Eskom and complicity of senior ministers and other top politicians.
The ATM said in a statement today that the sudden and immediate release from his CEO position by the Special Eskom Board Meeting ahead of his 31 March 2023 last day at the office, following his explosive interviews, must be treated with caution. “It is not in good faith,” said the party’s President Vuyo Zungula.
“In addition, Mr de Ruyter has a case to answer for his failure to report such corruption in terms of s34 of PRECCA.
“All this vindicates our opposition to the appointment of the Electricity Minister. It’s now very clear that the load shedding challenges at Eskom are self-created to enable the ruling party and senior politicians to ‘eat’ instead of providing a functional power utility.
“This matter has a direct bearing to the declared National Disaster on Electricity and thus within that context, the ATM is requesting that the special sitting be convened on an urgent basis to allow the process of accountability and transparency to take place.”
In a statement Eskom said: “Following the convening of a special Board meeting on 22 February 2023, the Eskom Board and Group Chief Executive (GCE) Andrè de Ruyter have reached mutual agreement to curtail his notice period to 28 February 2023.”
The board further resolved that de Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period but that he will be released from his position with immediate effect.