Premier commends former Eskom CEO & wishes him well

Media release: Premier commends former Eskom CEO & wishes him well

Premier Alan Winde has expressed his dismay at Andre de Ruyter’s immediate termination as Eskom’s Group Chief Executive.

“It is clear Mr. de Ruyter was forced out ahead of his resignation notice period because of his courage in speaking out about the endemic corruption that has been plaguing Eskom for decades under the ANC government,” the Premier said.

Mr. de Ruyter had his work cut out for him in saving the power utility from total collapse. Premier Winde said, “He did an exceptional job under extremely difficult circumstances, paying attention to Eskom’s maintenance programme, which I hope will be sustained even with his exit. Eskom must rescue what remains of its generation capacity from total collapse and a proactive and consistent maintenance plan is critical.”

“Corruption and political interference have been the cause of Eskom’s worrying deterioration over the years and we recognise the work that Mr. de Ruyter and the team at Eskom did in trying to address this,” Premier Winde continued, adding, “I appreciate Mr. De Ruyter’s willingness to meet with me regularly and his candour. He should be commended for his efforts in trying to stabilise the utility amid constant and counter-productive political interference. Under his leadership, he tried to introduce much-needed reforms to make Eskom sustainable and competitive”.

The Premier wishes Mr. de Ruyter well and thanked him for his service, not just to Eskom but the country too.