Johannesburg - Former Eskom COO Matshela Koko has congratulated the new board of Eskom, which was appointed over three months ago, for a job well-done in getting the outgoing Eskom CEO to resign.
In the same vein, he criticised outgoing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter for being out of depth to run Eskom effectively.
He said De Ruyter's tenure had run its course, as he was out of his depth and should’ve long ago been fired.
Koko was speaking to The Star following the news De Ruyter had resigned from his job as Eskom CEO. Koko said finally the power utility would be able to appoint a capable CEO and COO to lead energy generation at Eskom.
Koko said it was no coincidence the CEO had resigned, saying this was the consequence of the board's evaluation of De Ruyter's performance, which has been nothing short of dismal.
He said the resignation was twofold: the evaluation of executives and the announcement of COO Jan Oberholzer, and now we had the resignation of the CEO.
"This may have been the consequence of the board having evaluated the performance of the executives which have culminated to today" he said.
Koko said no board would allow their best-performing executives to resign in the middle of a power crisis, adding this was due to their failures.
"I hope and pray that this presents a new beginning for Eskom. The board has an opportunity to give us a new CEO, COO, and new generation unit that will steer the ship in the right direction and focus on the real problems at Eskom," he said.
Koko said the new CEO and Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, must not be a spokesperson for independent power producers but should work towards rebuilding Eskom.
"I really hope the new CEO and COO will stay out of politics to stop load shedding. It is no debate that the man was out of his depth when it comes to the prerequisite skill sets required for Eskom's success today, but let us face the facts and not beat about the bush.
“The only reason that De Ruyter survived for so long is because he was protected by white business interests. But let us not fool ourselves, because our politicians are run by white business," he said.
The DA fingered Minister of Minerals and Energy Gwede Mantashe as the main protagonist in the resignation of De Ruyter.
The party had previously labelled Mantashe as a person who was sowing disharmony and disinformation during the crisis of load shedding.
DA's spokesperson on Public Enterprises, Ghaleb Cachalia, said De Ruyter’s resignation was a result of Mantashe's relentless campaign against a man who, despite having one hand tied behind his back as he battled to get the utility on track – fighting corruption, debilitating policies, and political interference –conducted a dutiful and responsible effort at the discharge of his duties.
"Clearly his minister, Pravin Gordhan, is powerless in the face of Mantashe and many in the RET faction who have been baying for his blood.
“Yet again, the factional shenanigans of the ANC are spilling over into the efficient running of key utilities, and the results will be more than dire," said Cachalia.
Cachalia said that last week Mantashe made a flimsy attempt to absolve himself of any responsibility by accusing Eskom of "actively agitating for the overthrow of the state".
Meanwhile, civil society organisation Solidarity said this resignation would deepen the Eskom crisis and not alleviate it, saying that the wrong person had resigned.
They claimed it was “politicians” who were looking for a scapegoat to hide their own incompetence and exerted incredible pressure on De Ruyter.
Eskom said De Ruyter has agreed to remain at the help while the search for his successor gets under way.
"Mr De Ruyter has agreed to stay for an additional period beyond the stipulated 30-days’ notice to ensure continuity while we urgently embark on a search for his successor.
“His last day at Eskom will be March 31, 2023,” said Eskom board chairperson, Mpho Makwana.
"It has been an honour and privilege to serve Eskom and South Africa. I wish all the hard-working people of Eskom well," he added.
Makwana said the Eskom Boar confirmed that there is no plan for the chairman to become an interim CEO and that a comprehensive executive search will be conducted to find a suitably qualified candidate.
“On behalf of the Eskom Board, executive and the entire Eskom staff, I thank De Ruyter for his extraordinary service to the people of South Africa. I also thank De Ruyter’s family for supporting the Group Chief Executive during the tumultuous period,” he said. | Additional reporting by Se-Ann Rall
The Star