The resigning CEO of the South African public electricity company Eskom, undermined by scandals and unable to supply the country, was ousted from his post on Wednesday, Eskom announced in a press release.
Andre de Ruyter, Eskom’s CEO since 2020, announced his resignation in December but was expected to stay on until the end of March to give the company time to find a replacement.
The Board of Directors decided that Mr. de Ruyter did “not need to serve the remainder of his notice” and was “released from his obligations with immediate effect”, Eskom said.
A few hours earlier, the former CEO had, in an interview, expressed doubts about the government’s political will to fight against endemic corruption within Eskom.
In December, shortly before submitting his resignation, he had been the victim of an attempted poisoning.
South Africa does not produce enough power for its economy and population of 60 million. The continent’s leading industrial power has been subject to scheduled daily blackouts for months, reaching almost 12 noon on some days.
The country experienced a record 207 days of load shedding last year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently declared a state of national disaster. It must also appoint a Minister of Electricity.
Eskom generates 90% of the country’s electricity largely from coal. After years of corruption and mismanagement, it is unable to produce enough in aging and poorly maintained plants.
Eskom is also saddled with colossal debt equivalent to more than 20 billion euros (400 billion rand). The state announced last year to take back half of it.
The bailout will take public debt to nearly 300 billion euros (5.84 trillion rand), or 73.6% of GDP, over the next three years, according to the finance minister, who added that the country was now spending more money on its debt than on Health or Defence.
The South African central bank is predicting near-zero GDP growth for the year at 0.3%, partly because of the energy crisis.