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BL Premium reports that an independent inquiry into allegations of racism and abuse of power by Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has found no evidence that he conducted himself in a manner that amounted to racism or that breached governance.
The inquiry, headed by advocate Ishmael Semenya, was established by the Eskom board in April after a senior employee wrote to the board chair and to President Cyril Ramaphosa to complain about De Ruyter’s conduct. Solly Tshitangano, at the time Eskom’s head of procurement, alleged that De Ruyter treated white-owned companies differently from black-owned ones, implying that he was racist. He also claimed that De Ruyter had made irregular appointments, breached Eskom’s governance procedures, undermined the board and interfered in procurement in a way that constituted an abuse of power. Tshitangano also wrote to public enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, the auditor-general’s office and parliament’s standing committee on public accounts. Semenya’s report states: “Having heard all the evidence and considered all the documents, I could find no substantiation for the allegation that the GCE [group chief executive] has conducted himself in any manner that would amount to racist practice.” Semenya said he could also find substantiation for neither poor governance on the part of De Ruyter or Eskom, nor for the allegation that the recruitment processes were irregular. The claim that the procurement processes were unlawful was also without merit, he stated. Semenya was scathing of Tshitangano’s conduct, describing his allegations as “wild”, “unsubstantiated”, “highly irresponsible” and “without merit”. Tshitangano was dismissed from Eskom last week after being found guilty of misconduct in a disciplinary process. He had been on the verge of suspension when he wrote to Ramaphosa, Gordhan and others.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page