SOUTH Africa’s minister in charge of state-owned power company Eskom Holdings undermined upper management, disrupting efforts to end the nation’s energy crisis, said former chief executive officer (CEO) Andre de Ruyter.
Pravin Gordhan, the minister for public enterprises, would verify information, communicated by the CEO, with lower-level Eskom employees, De Ruyter claimed in his new book “Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom.”
South Africa has been hobbled by frequent power cuts that are crimping economic growth.
“Whenever I heard of him double-checking my statements with Eskom employees, it left a bad taste in my mouth,” De Ruyter wrote in an excerpt published Sunday. “If you don’t trust me, fine, but tell me and then fire me.”
De Ruyter said in a television interview in February that Eskom was losing about R1 billion a month due to corruption and theft, with the help of people linked to the ruling African National Congress.
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