By Editorial
Just when South Africans thought they had seen it all, Eskom decided to launch an internal investigation that runs in parallel to that of Parliament into the alleged racial misconduct of its chief executive, Andre de Ruyter.
Why Eskom did not investigate these allegations when they were first brought before the board many months ago is a question of interest to everyone.
Eskom issued several statements defending its allegedly racist chief executive without first establishing the facts of the allegations, but now they want South Africans to believe that they have changed their position overnight and want to investigate themselves. This is a classic example of what many believe to be an attempt to protect a man who has made it clear through his actions that black executives and black companies have no place in Eskom.
He is clearly an unapologetic one-man show determined to collapse Eskom and privatise it, hence any efforts to make Eskom functional again are reserved by De Ruyter and his hired all-white old boys’ club.
For many South Africans, Eskom is a very strategic and important state-owned enterprise. It’s an institution that essentially represents the state of our affairs as a republic.
The embattled power utility has been facing challenges for some years now and has clearly shown the true picture of where we find ourselves.
There are a number of serious instances in which De Ruyter discriminated against black executives and black companies and these have been well documented over the past few months by Independent Media.
De Ruyter has come under fire from many corners of our society, he has faced an upheaval and has now been proven to be failing to turn around Eskom. Many feel he has dismally failed to provide any leadership and improve the affairs of our once beloved power utility and, from the developments we have observed, it is clear that we have a serious problem at Eskom.
Constant power cuts combined with the Covid-19 pandemic are driving South Africans to the depths of despair, and the poor are feeling the impact the most.
The Eskom board must stop playing games, De Ruyter must go.
The Star