The ANC responds to De Ruyter by demanding evidence

The ANC has dismissed claims of political influence and corruption at Eskom, claiming that former CEO Andre de Ruyter must demonstrate wrongdoing or keep his ‘right-wing’ opinions to himself.

During a post-budget conference on Thursday, the party addressed claims made by Andre De Ruyter (23 February).

De Ruyter accused the governing party of exploiting the troubled state-owned power utility as a “feeding trough” in an explosive interview with journalist Annika Larsen on Tuesday evening (21 February), stating that corruption was ingrained in the government and its relations with the firm.

The claims were dismissed by ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula as reckless, unsubstantiated, and ludicrous.

He said that De Ruyter was attempting to divert attention away from his own inadequacies at Eskom by engaging in an opportunistic “venture” into political territory.

Mbalula said that De Ruyter was promoting “right-wing ideology” by doing so.

He stated that the ruling party would “not be deterred and side-tracked by utterances of naysayers such as the outgoing Eskom CEO.”

“De Ruyter was appointed strictly to lead the turnaround of Eskom into a functional public enterprise that provides the country with stable, reliable electricity. The question of whether the national energy utility is state-owned or not was part of his contract,” he added.

Mbalula agreed with Public Enterprises Minister – and fellow ANC member – Pravin Gordhan that De Ruyter’s political opinions should be kept confidential.

About the claims of corruption, Mbalula stated that De Ruyter was attempting to shift blame and that he is obligated to give proof to the contrary.

One of De Ruyter’s more serious charges in the interview concerned a “senior politician” who was involved in corrupt conduct. When the former CEO reported this to a government minister, he was received with a dismissive remark.

“The response was essentially, ‘you know, you have to be pragmatic – in order to pursue the greater good, you have to enable some people to eat a little bit’,” said De Ruyter.

De Ruyter also alleged that there were attempts to water down governance around the $8.5 billion conditional loans inbound from rich countries such as the UK, Germany and the Netherlands – and that there was a “vociferous rejection” of the Just Energy Transition because there was “no way for the comrades to eat”.

The former executive admits that he failed to eliminate load shedding during his tenure as CEO. Yet, he said that the effort was unachievable due to severe crime, entrenched corruption, and continual government involvement.

Following the interview and Gordhan’s less-than-friendly answer, an emergency board meeting was convened. Van Ruyter was fired hours later with immediate effect.

De Ruyter’s term as CEO was set to expire at the end of March 2023, after his resignation in December 2022.

Energy experts have cautioned that the void left by De Ruyter’s departure, as well as the impending departures of other senior executives at Eskom, may allow the firm to be filled with more political appointments.