André de Ruyter knew well the adversity he faced at South Africa’s power monopoly – a state-owned wreck hollowed out by corruption that struggles to keep the lights on, pay its bills and play ball with a unionised workforce.
Eskom has read the riot act to “apathetic” managers at its power stations, calling for an “urgent culture change” in the organisation, as the state-owned monopoly plunges the country into severe load shedding.
With South Africa’s biggest state utility in crisis, one of parliament’s most important financial oversight committees called an urgent online meeting with the company.
The R3.8-billion claim Eskom has made against former executives as well as former minister Mosebenzi Zwane and the Gupta brothers, is a matter of principle, CEO André de Ruyter said on Tuesday.
The appointment of a white treasurer at Eskom has become mired in allegations of racism, deepening a political dispute between a rabble-rousing opposition party and a cabinet minister.
André de Ruyter, the CEO of South Africa’s debt-stricken state power utility, is navigating a political minefield as he collects overdue debt, reduces electricity theft and bolsters revenue.
South Africa is considering an independent board for its ailing national airline, with a shareholder structure similar to that of part state-owned telecoms firm Telkom, a senior government minister said.
South African Airways’ administrators proposed the government put up at least R26.7-billion to rescue the carrier after years of losses and the grounding of commercial passenger flights.
Efforts to address Eskom’s R450-billion debt burden have taken a back seat to the government’s focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Government has provisionally agreed to allocate at least R21-billion to the country’s embattled national airline to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans.