‘De Ruyter is at Eskom because he’s white’ – Floyd Shivambu

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is correct in saying that Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has neither the technical and intellectual capacity nor commitment to lead and salvage the ailing parastatal, Floyd Shivambu, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Deputy President, said on Twitter.

This comes as the country continues to suffer from chronic load shedding at different stages as Eskom continues the relentless battle to keep lights on, a fight it seems to be losing.

Load shedding

The load shedding tracker by Outlier showed that January had been the only load shedding-free month in 2022.

It also showed that South Africa had suffered 180 days of rolling blackouts and counting (until 30 November) this year alone.

ALSO READ: Contracted Eskom guards nabbed for stealing thousands of litres of diesel

De Ruyter to blame?

Shivambu in the Twitter post also took a swipe at Mantashe.

“He’s (de Ruyter) there because he’s white.  Gwede must also admit that he’s not responsible for energy, he’s just a commentator.”

Mantashe likened de Ruyter to a “policeman” who is focused on “chasing criminals, ” without a grasp of the power utility’s challenges, according to News24.

Mantashe said De Ruyter must be replaced with someone who has the technical capacity to turn Eskom around.

Or Mantashe to blame?

However, in September, independent energy research consultant Hilton Trollip put the blame for South Africa’s electricity crisis on Mantashe.

Mantashe must be held to account for the electricity crisis the country finds itself in, Trollip told The Citizen.

“The minister has failed to get additional energy onto the grid, despite President Ramaphosa having signed agreements to buy electricity from renewable energy companies in 2018. Mantashe has just delayed the whole process.”

Criminality at Eskom

Meanwhile, Eskom continues to be plagued by criminality at power stations with De Ruyter during a radio interview saying that sabotage of the utility’s equipment and coal syndicates were among the criminal activities contributing to the stages of load shedding.

On Tuesday, Eskom said two guards employed by a security company contracted by the state-owned entity have been arrested for allegedly stealing nearly 6,000 litres of diesel from the Port Rex Power Station in East London.

Eskom said the guards were arrested while on duty at the power station on Monday.

Additional reporting by Stephen Tau

ALSO READ: Saboteur contractor arrested at Eskom’s Camden Power Station