Rustenburg – André de Ruyter was the worst CEO in the history of Eskom, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said.
Reacting to De Ruyter’s resignation Numsa’s national spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, said his resignation was long overdue.
“We are overjoyed that De Ruyter resigned, his resignation was way overdue… He is the worst CEO in the history of Eskom,” she told SABC TV news.
She said under De Ruyter, as a union, they experienced a high number of retrenchments due to persistent load shedding.
“Companies are closing down due to load shedding,” she said.
Hlubi-Majola said De Ruyter was not a suitable candidate from the start to head Eskom, as he lacked experience in the energy sector.
There had been ongoing calls for De Ruyter to be removed. He resigned on Wednesday, at a time when the country is experiencing Stage 5 load shedding, with some analysts expressing concern that the country could soon experience Stage 8 load shedding.
In September, Numsa general secretary, Irvin Jim, said De Ruyter’s qualifications and work experience had not prepared him at all for the role of Eskom’s CEO, and he kept demonstrating his inability with every stage of load shedding announcements.
“There has never been a CEO who has failed as spectacularly as De Ruyter has failed in the short time that he has been leading Eskom,” Jim said.
“When De Ruyter started at Eskom he promised the nation that he would end load shedding within 18 months. He has failed to uphold that promise.
“Eskom’s energy availability is the lowest it has ever been in history of the organisations existence.
“As a result, the economy of the country is in the ICU and yet, bizarrely, when Numsa and other organisations call for his dismissal, there are some in the media, particularly so-called ‘energy experts’ who passionately defend him and there is an absolute refusal to hold him accountable for his failures,” he said.
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