Eskom boss De Ruyter’s resignation sends shock waves through SA

André de Ruyter’s “sudden” resignation as CEO of SA’s power utility Eskom on Wednesday, sent shock waves across the country with some experts saying South Africa is heading for big trouble, while some said his exit could only be described as “three wasted years”.

Following a crescendo of calls from South Africans, experts and the ANC national executive committee (NEC) for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to fire De Ruyter, he finally decided to step down, leaving SA in the midst of its worst energy crisis with 8 to 10-hour power cuts daily. Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe also said load shedding was worse than state capture, adding “Eskom must attend to this problem. By not attending to load shedding Eskom is agitating to overthrow the state.”

De Ruyter resigns

It was understood he handed in his resignation letter to Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana earlier this week.

According to engineeringnews.co.za, Mpho Makwana, recently appointed chairperson of the Eskom board, was “widely expected to step into André de Ruyter’s role as Eskom group chief executive”.

Acting generation executive Rhulani Mathebula resigned from Eskom on 15 November citing ill health and family concerns after only being in the position since 9 May.

ALSO READ: Eskom CEO André de Ruyter resigns

Economist Dawie Roodt was lost for words when he heard the news of De Ruyter resigning as head of Eskom, and noted that he wouldn’t be the last one to leave.

“This is a big blow for South Africa. This is horrible news. I don’t know who they will get to replace him,” he said.

“I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I’m sure he was under enormous pressure. Eskom has been ruined by the ANC corruption. He was the head of the criminal organisation which he had to try and turn around.”

Roodt said he didn’t think Jan Oberholzer, chief operating officer, would stay much longer, although Oberholzer is due to retire in April next year.

Energy analyst and MD at EE Business Intelligence Chris Yelland said De Ruyter had not received a single word of support from President Cyril Ramaphosa, the finance minister Enoch Godongwana, Gordhan and the Eskom board chairman after he was accused of treason.

“I would expect nothing different except that De Ruyter should resign in disgust,” Yelland added.

Resignation no surprise

However another energy analyst energy analyst, Clyde Mallinson, and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage expressed disappointment and said they were concerned about Eskom’s future but the resignation did not come as a surprise.

“It’s a worrying time, this is someone who has done a lot of work. It might not seem like it with all this load shedding we’re having, but he fought against the odds,” Duvenage said.

“One can imagine there are ulterior motives that have given rise to so much of the current load shedding and here we’re talking sabotage, and political interest sabotage, which might sound speculative but where there’s smoke there’s fire.”

“I’m not surprised he’s decided to leave, but I’m surprised he hung on as long as he did, and hopefully Eskom finds a suitable replacement, I hope Eskom gets the right leadership and hopefully we’ll get right on track.”

ALSO READ: Good riddance or good grief? – De Ruyter’s gone, so what happens now?

DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia said De Ruyter’s apparent sudden resignation as the CEO of Eskom was a reflection on Gwede Mantashe’s relentless campaign against a man who had one hand tied behind his back as he battled to get the utility on track.

“Clearly his minister, Pravin Gordhan, is powerless in the face of Mantashe and many in the RET faction who have been baying for his blood,” he added.

“The DA condemns this thinly-veiled ‘resignation’ and repeats its call for bold emergency action to be taken to fix the ever-increasing problem of load shedding.”

“It’s time for a ring-fenced sate of disaster to be declared around Eskom, governed independently by a panel of experts that ideally should include the former CEO who knows more than most what bedevils Eskom.”