Pic: Engineering News
While some, like Metalworkers' union Numsa, have said they were overjoyed at the resignation of the embattled and now-outgoing chief executive at the beleaguered power utility, others have now come to his defence, saying De Ruyter can’t be the only one to blame for Eskom falling apart.
De Ruyter threw in the towel on Wednesday and will see out his term until March 2023.
During this time, the GOOD party has urged government to recruit someone with the kind of experience and capacity that will demand institutional support.
Good Secretary-General Brett Herron said that candidate would need to restore power supply and stability in the short term and go on to preside over a just transition to renewable energy.
“If the new candidate cannot be recruited within South Africa, we must look further afield,” said Herron.
“The new CEO’s first task should be to provide a credible and implementable roadmap to end power cuts.”
But amid the flurry of reaction to De Ruyter’s resignation, not everyone was eager to see the back of him just yet.
Freedom Front Plus MP Wouter Wessels said the ruling ANC had used De Ruyter as a scapegoat.
He said his resignation would only exacerbate the instability at Eskom.
“It is unfortunate that the ANC blames Mr De Ruyter for the current situation of loadshedding,” said Wessels, “when it is the ANC government that is responsible for the complete mismanagement of Eskom over many, many years.
“Mr De Ruyter should not have been blamed for this and cannot face the blame alone when it is the ANC government that allowed mismanagement, allowed state capture and created and allowed the situation that we are currently in,” Wessels added.
The Institute for Race Relations called the allegations against De Ruyter “false attacks”.
“The IRR has written to the Presidency and to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s office requesting that they publicly support Eskom's embattled CEO against false attacks,” said the IRR’s head of campaigns, Gabriel Crouse.
Crouse added: “Although no reason has been announced for his tendered resignation it is widely agreed that Energy and Minerals Minister Gwede Mantashe's false accusations last week effectively drove De Ruyter into a corner, and from there out of public service.”
