DA calls on De Ruyter to ‘remain independent’ as Eskom CEO

Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Natasha Mazzone congratulated new Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter on his appointment on Tuesday morning, in a statement that also acknowledged what an “unenviable” and “mammoth” task he has ahead of him.

The party calls for De Ruyter to “remain independent and beyond reproach as he takes on his new role”.

“We will keep a close eye on the developments at Eskom under his leadership and hope that he will always act in the best interest of Eskom and the public.”

The statement starts by acknowledging Eskom’s woes.

“It is no secret that Eskom has been brought to its knees by almost a decade of weak leadership and mismanagement.”

The DA also expressed the view that De Ruyter had the experience needed for the job.

“With experience in both the private and public sectors, Mr De Ruyter has a wealth of experience and we implore upon him to use this experience to set Eskom on the right course to recovery,” said Mazzone. 

READ MORE: EFF ‘disgusted’ by ‘racist’ appointment of Eskom CEO De Ruyter

“Mr De Ruyter has an unenviable task ahead of him and his priorities should include stabilising Eskom’s mammoth mountain of debt as well as ensuring a secure electricity grid for the nation.

“Of course the only way we can truly achieve an efficient Eskom and an energy secure South Africa is when we break the utility’s monopoly over the energy sector – as set out in the DA’s Cheaper Electricity Bill.”

The DA has called for Eskom to be privatised, contrasting with the views of the unions as well as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who have vowed to fight privatisation at all costs.

In the statement following De Ruyter’s appointment, the party did not use the word ‘privatisation’ but did call for an end to Eskom’s monopoly, which appeared to be in the pipeline following the unveiling of government’s Special Paper on Eskom.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan announced at a media briefing towards the end of October that the unbundling of Eskom, first brought up by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his state of the nation address in February, would be taking place.

The minister said the creation of “clusters” within the generational component of Eskom would allow “internal competition” and give consumers an opportunity to choose, in what is an attempt to break up the monopoly the government-owned entity has over South African power production, without resorting to privatisation.

The unions and the EFF have accused Gordhan and the president’s measures of being privatisation.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.