Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has been dismissed from his position with immediate effect, according to a statement released by the company’s board of directors. The decision was made after de Ruyter expressed doubts about the South African government’s political will to fight against endemic corruption within Eskom during a recent interview. In the interview with TV station etv, de Ruyter questioned whether Eskom was an African National Congress (ANC) “feeding trough”. He also claimed that around 51.5 million euros were being stolen from Eskom every month.
Andre de Ruyter and South Africa’s energy crisis
De Ruyter’s dismissal comes at a time when South Africa is struggling with a major energy crisis. The country, which has a population of 60 million, does not produce enough power for its economy. Scheduled daily blackouts have been taking place for months, with some lasting until almost noon. Last year, South Africa experienced a record 207 days of power outages.
Eskom generates 90 percent of the country’s electricity from coal. However, years of corruption and mismanagement have left the company unable to produce enough energy from its ageing and poorly maintained plants. Eskom is also burdened with a colossal debt of over 20 billion euros. In 2020, the state announced that it would pay half of this debt, bringing public debt to nearly 300 billion euros or 73.6 percent of GDP over the next three years.
The energy crisis is partly to blame for South Africa’s near-zero GDP growth for the year, which is predicted to be at 0.3 percent by the country’s central bank. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently declared a state of national disaster, but has yet to appoint a Minister of Electricity to tackle the crisis ahead of a cabinet reshuffle.
Image Credit: REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham
