Eskom chief financial officer (CFO) Calib Cassim has been appointed interim CEO following Andre de Ruyter’s abrupt exit on Wednesday.
The state-owned power utility confirmed in a statement on Friday that Cassim will serve until further notice. “Eskom is pleased to announce the appointment of Calib Cassim as interim Group CEO with immediate effect. Mr Cassim will lead the Eskom management team until further notice,” reads a statement from Eskom.
“Mr Cassim was appointed as Eskom’s chief financial officer in November 2018 after serving as acting CFO from July 2017. He is a registered chartered accountant and holds a master’s degree in business leadership.
“With over 20 years of service in Eskom, his qualifications and extensive experience have provided Mr Cassim with a deep understanding and appreciation of the Eskom business and the electricity industry, especially regarding the challenges facing the financing of operations and future expansion of the industry.”
De Ruyter resigned in December 2022, but continued to serve as the CEO of the cash-strapped entity until March to ensure a smooth transition.
However, he was shown the door at an urgent Eskom board meeting on Wednesday after an explosive TV interview aired. Later on Wednesday, Eskom issued a statement saying the former Eskom boss had resigned “with immediate effect”.
In the controversial interview, De Ruyter pointed fingers at senior politicians for the ongoing corruption and misconduct at Eskom.
He alleged that the entity is fraught with political interference and corruption from senior politicians, and noted that the ANC is using the state-owned company as a “feeding trough”.
“My rough estimate of what is stolen from Eskom is about R1-billion a month and we’ve made some inroads. We’ve started closing the taps and that does not make you any friends. It is difficult to speculate on who might have wanted to make an attempt on my life, but the people with a motive, there is a pretty long list,” he said in the interview.
In response to De Ruyter’s allegations, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula called a media briefing on Thursday and labelled the former CEO’s allegations as “unfounded, irresponsible, and baseless”.
He indicated that the public should question the former Eskom boss’ intentions, saying why De Ruyter chose to hang out the dirt taking place at Eskom only when he was leaving, while it was happening under his watch as the CEO.
He further said the ANC rejects the “unfortunate, irresponsible, and baseless” claims of political interference and corruption at the power utility”.
“He is now trying to shift the blame from his own shortcomings to other people. We must ask why he is only raising these allegations when he leaves Eskom. If he wants to become a political player and undermine the efforts of patriotic South Africans, then let him say so publicly and declare for all to know who he is aligned with,” said Mbalula.
Nonetheless, the official opposition party will not let De Ruyter’s allegations slide without verification, revealing on Thursday that it wants access to information around these assertions.
DA MP Leon Schreiber said the party has applied to acquire all the information Eskom has regarding the alleged involvement of senior politicians in plundering the power utility.
Meanwhile, Ghaleb Cachalia, a DA representative in the public enterprises portfolio, said De Ruyter is not appreciated enough for his outstanding work as CEO at Eskom, especially for his bravery during the interview.
“We commend his bravery, especially in the television interview this week, in which he lifted the veil on the large-scale corruption at Eskom,” said Cachalia.
“Mr De Ruyter is a true patriot and we wish him success for the future. It is telling that no one in government has seen fit to thank him for his efforts – evidence of the total conflation of state and party.
“As he leaves, another acting CEO will fill his role without any institutional knowledge of the kind De Ruyter has nor any proper handover while the country is in stage seven of loadshedding. This was confirmed by the Eskom spokesperson, who announced the cutting of 7 045 megawatts of power late on Tuesday to keep the grid from a total collapse.”
Also read: Mbalula questions former Eskom boss De Ruyter’s intentions
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