Those Mantashe remarks and an ‘untenable’ situation – De Ruyter reveals why he had to leave Eskom
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A week after Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe publicly accused Eskom management of ‘agitating for the overthrow of the state’, outgoing Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter on Thursday pointed to ‘recent media reports’ as the reason for his continued tenure being untenable.
Outgoing Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter has given the clearest reason for his resignation this week, saying he had “lost the support of the political economy”.
At a media briefing on Thursday, De Ruyter pointed to “recent media reports” as the reason for his continued tenure being untenable.
Chief among these are recent news reports in which Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe accused Eskom and its leadership of “agitating for the overthrow of the state”. In November, he called De Ruyter a “policeman” who did not have what it took to run the utility.
Daily Maverick has approached Mantashe for comment but had been received by the time of publication.
Daily Maverick previously reported that the minister made incendiary comments during a signing ceremony at the Independent Power Producers’ (IPP) office in Centurion on 8 December 2022.
“We are from the period of State Capture, but load shedding is becoming worse than State Capture,” Mantashe said, adding that the levels of crime and sabotage were limiting economic growth.
“Any other government can be overthrown for this level of load shedding. Eskom, by not attending to load shedding, is agitating for the overthrow of the state. If it is not addressed, then the state will be failing to do what it needs to do. load shedding is urgent; it must be attended to sooner than later.”
“We’re engaging with Eskom more aggressively and telling them to get investment into the grid as quickly as possible. energy is always used as a factor that attracts investment into the economy,” said Mantashe.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gwede Mantashe has harsh words for Eskom as additional 1,759MW of renewables signed up”
In the time since, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and the Eskom board have remained silent on Mantashe’s claims.
Read in Daily Maverick: “André de Ruyter had a year from hell – and then he lost his political cover”
Now, in his first public statements since news of his resignation broke, De Ruyter – in general terms – laid out why he is leaving.
“I think the circumstances surrounding Eskom are well known. The operational challenges, the financial challenges, the challenges surrounding societal matters ...
Outgoing Eskom group chief executive André de Ruyter has given the clearest reason for his resignation this week, saying he had “lost the support of the political economy”.
At a media briefing on Thursday, De Ruyter pointed to “recent media reports” as the reason for his continued tenure being untenable.
Chief among these are recent news reports in which Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe accused Eskom and its leadership of “agitating for the overthrow of the state”. In November, he called De Ruyter a “policeman” who did not have what it took to run the utility.
Daily Maverick has approached Mantashe for comment but had been received by the time of publication.
Daily Maverick previously reported that the minister made incendiary comments during a signing ceremony at the Independent Power Producers’ (IPP) office in Centurion on 8 December 2022.
“We are from the period of State Capture, but load shedding is becoming worse than State Capture,” Mantashe said, adding that the levels of crime and sabotage were limiting economic growth.
“Any other government can be overthrown for this level of load shedding. Eskom, by not attending to load shedding, is agitating for the overthrow of the state. If it is not addressed, then the state will be failing to do what it needs to do. load shedding is urgent; it must be attended to sooner than later.”
“We’re engaging with Eskom more aggressively and telling them to get investment into the grid as quickly as possible. energy is always used as a factor that attracts investment into the economy,” said Mantashe.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Gwede Mantashe has harsh words for Eskom as additional 1,759MW of renewables signed up”
In the time since, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and the Eskom board have remained silent on Mantashe’s claims.
Read in Daily Maverick: “André de Ruyter had a year from hell – and then he lost his political cover”
Now, in his first public statements since news of his resignation broke, De Ruyter – in general terms – laid out why he is leaving.
“I think the circumstances surrounding Eskom are well known. The operational challenges, the financial challenges, the challenges surrounding societal matters ...