Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom

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He also said that mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe was ‘territorial’ over the political sphere and that Gorhan was competent but hampered by loyalty to the ANC. Another take-away is the devastating indictment of De Ruyter’s immediate predecessors as CEO, Matshela Koko and Brian Molefe. They appear as incompetent managers who ran into the ground what the Financial Times of London had praised as the world’s best state-owned enterprise as recently as 2001. Both Koko and Molefe have been charged with corruption – at Eskom and the transport parastatal Transet, respectively. This book and the man behind it are both mired in controversy. There are two framing narratives around de Ruyter's book. Eventually Bruce Moyo, the cluster manager for the region, took me to the storeroom, and showed me some kneepads that workers use when performing tasks like welding and cleaning the insides of pipes, chimneys and other areas at power stations. According to the Sunday Times, the exec alleged that some criminal networks had ties in high-up places – even as high as the Union Buildings – and that police officers are also in on the saga.

The former Eskom boss said his letter of resignation was already written in October after he realised his situation with the new board was becoming untenable. Derby, Ron (23 February 2023). "Eskom's Andre De Ruyter leaves with immediate effect after damning television interview about ANC corruption". Mail & Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2023. And the law makes everything difficult. Labour laws make it very difficult to hire and fire. There is the Public Finance Management Act, which ties red tape around almost every procedure. Just to issue a tender can take six months. Then there are procurement regulations to ensure buying from empowerment groups which add big margins on what would be paid to the original equipment manufacturers. And then there are racial quotas which reduce flexibility in hiring.

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The same is true of electricity. And there it's even worse. Even if you could label electrons, it wouldn't matter. Because the bulk of the system is AC, it's just electrons oscillating roughly where they are. They're not moving around in a circle. What you're buying is the electromagnetic field they help set up. But there's no way to sequester that for specific customers. It continued: “We wish to make clear to the public that the only way to obtain an ebook legally is to buy it from an ebook retailer or to borrow it from an authorised ebook library. In a shared transport network like roads, the vehicles are identifiable and it's not trivial to use one that doesn't belong to you. If the bus system fails it's easy to switch to Uber. And those who weren't using the buses don't suffer much unless there is as severe shortage. Which will send a genuine market signal. It also turns out that Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan was the Cabinet member who allegedly said, ‘Well, I suspect it was inevitable that this would come out’, when De Ruyter disclose the names of the two politicians who were allegedly implicated in Eskom corruption.

Whatever the criticisms of his management style and strategy, the man has to be given immense credit. It is a job few want. At least he gave his all to the task, and has written this book, which is a wake-up call for change. The City Press reported that the book was kept a secret and had a surprise launch out of fears that someone would try to prevent it from being published. There are battles with three of the four ministers overseeing Eskom. Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Minerals and Energy and Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade and Industry are ideologues, and are openly hostile. Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, comes across in the book as understanding the issues, but reluctant to take action on a number of core matters, out of loyalty to the ANC. De Ruyter is able to work well with Barbara Creecy, whose ministerial portfolio includes the environment. According to the book, De Ruyter pursued the investigation after he was informed by “a trusted friend and top business executive” of plans to sabotage Eskom.

Former Eskom chief executive officer Andre de Ruyter has launched a surprise tell-all book about his time as head of Eskom, delving deeper into his claims of corruption at the battled utility, as well as the political hands that have a firm grip on it. I had made no such promise, and in fact had not even heard from the SSA that they wanted to vet me. Only in October, with the arrival of the new board, was vetting put on the agenda of the first board meeting and I was sent the Z204 form to complete. Of course, with its customary alacrity, SCOPA jumped on the bandwagon and expressed its alarm that unvetted executives were in charge of Eskom.