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News24 reports that André de Ruyter, Eskom's chief executive, threatened to resign his position a mere three months into his tenure when Sifiso Dabengwa, an Eskom board member, falsely accused him of misleading the board after he cancelled a R14 billion fuel oil tender.
De Ruyter presented Eskom board chairperson, Malegapuru Makgoba, with an ultimatum that would put his future at the power utility in question, namely either Dabengwa left, or he would depart. This after an investigation cleared De Ruyter of wrongdoing. The board had initiated an independent probe after Dabengwa accused the CEO of misleading the board in his submissions around the tender, which De Ruyter believed needed to be cancelled. When things came to a head, De Ruyter phoned Makgoba. "Either he goes, or I go," De Ruyter told Makgoba. Dabengwa resigned from the board on 27 July 2020. De Ruyter would later be vindicated when the High Court agreed, setting aside the tender award, which would have seen suppliers, including Econ Oil, sign five-year contracts for the supply of fuel oil. Fuel oil is burned in the boilers when generation units are started up. All this is revealed in a new book, titled ‘Sabotage: Eskom Under Siege’, written by investigative journalist Kyle Cowan. Instability in the leadership of Eskom has been well-documented, with De Ruyter the 10th person to hold the position of CEO in as many years. Cowan details the spat that woke De Ruyter up to the "the enormity of the mess he had walked into". Cowan's book, to be released this week, delves into the intense opposition De Ruyter and his team have faced in their attempts to clean up corruption and get Eskom back up and running.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Azarrah Karrim at News24 (subscriber access only)
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