Good morning.
After mounting pressure and a year from hell for Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, he has decided to resign from the power utility, while rolling blackouts continue to persist and Eskom struggles to keep the lights on.
De Ruyter was sabotaged and forced into resigning
After being publicly attacked by energy minister Gwede Mantashe and not backed up by either public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan or President Cyril Ramaphosa, De Ruyter was backed into a corner.
Furthermore, De Ruyter was sabotaged by the new board, appointed in October, while over the past week he has been excluded from crucial meetings. Gordhan has dealt with Eskom executives directly, bypassing De Ruyter and undermining him.
Read more here. (News24, for subscribers)
De Ruyter to stay on until March 2023
While only required to serve 30 days’ notice, Eskom chairperson Mpho Makwana said De Ruyter had agreed to stay on as CEO until the end of March 2023 while the board begins the process of finding a new chief executive.
Initially, reports said Makwana would take over as interim CEO but in a statement, he said that the board had no such plans in place. Read more here.
(Times LIVE)
André de Ruyter’s year from hell
De Ruyter had both one of his best years and worst years at Eskom. While the power utility has suffered and so too have South Africans with over 200 days of rolling blackouts this year, De Ruyter did begin the process to transition Eskom’s power supply.
South Africa’s US$8.5-billion JET Investment Programme was lauded at COP27 in Egypt as best-in-class energy transition thinking. But he faced saboteurs at every corner, which hobbled his day-to-day running of Eskom.
Read more here. (Daily Maverick)
Here’s what else you need to know today:
Load-shedding to be reduced to stage 4 on Thursday & stage 2 on Sunday – Times LIVE
Eskom boss De Ruyter’s resignation sends shock waves through SA – The Citizen
De Ruyter’s resignation sparks political call for State of Disaster at Eskom – Daily Maverick
EDITORIAL: De Ruyter’s exit leaves SA in a perilous position – Business Day
Knives and conniving: who would want De Ruyter’s Eskom job? – Business Day (for subscribers)
32% electricity price increase for South Africa – Nersa still has no answer – BusinessTech
Phala Phala, Parliament, Eskom: Ruling party is closing ranks again, playing ANC vs Everyone Else – Daily Maverick
Phala Phala: Sisulu did not vote on report because she was outside reading a text message – News24
South Africa’s SARB Says No Impact From Reported Cyber Breach – Bloomberg
Former spy boss Arthur Fraser attempts court challenge of Zondo report – Daily Maverick
