News24Wire reports that Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has said that appointments of senior managers at Eskom were not motivated by "ulterior racial motives" but rather by "performance and delivery".

This was indicated in an affidavit De Ruyter wrote to Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) as part of an investigation into allegations of racism, abuse of power and irregularities brought by suspended chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano. Tshitangano accused De Ruyter of playing a part in the irregular appointments of two senior Eskom officials, as well as failing to comply with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) by failing to submit certain documents to National Treasury regarding the collusive practices between Sasol and embattled Eskom supplier Econ Oil. De Ruyter denied the allegations in his affidavit and claimed that they had seriously hindered his ability to do his job. He noted that Tshitangano's allegations against him only surfaced once discussions about Tshitangano's underperformance had taken place. "In effect, a simple and straightforward operation issue dealing with underperformance has been elevated to parliamentary level. It seriously undermines morale in Eskom as we seek to engender a high-performance culture. It obstructs the efforts made by all concerned to recover Eskom's productive efficiency," De Ruyter told Scopa.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

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