Andre de Ruyter, former group chief executive of Eskom. File picture: Reutets, Sumaya Hisham
FORMER Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter has revealed that he will be leaving South Africa due to safety concerns.
This comes after De Ruyter made explosive revelations in an interview with e.tv’s journalist Annika Larsen, making allegations of crime and corruption at Eskom.
In the interview, he also accused ministers of interfering in Eskom operations and said a criminal syndicate in Mpumalanga was improperly benefiting to the tune of over R1 billion per month.
In an interview with MyBroadband, De Ruyter said that he would be spending time abroad after leaving Eskom.
When asked if he was concerned that he may be murdered following the information he shared in his explosive interview, he said: “I think that (spending time abroad) will be good for my health.”
In his interview with e.tv, De Ruyter made shocking claims regarding members of the governing party, who he said had knowledge of and involvement in corruption at the power utility.
De Ruyter also alleged that there were criminal cartels in Mpumalanga, consisting of sophisticated, well-organised individuals, who adopted language associated with the Mafia, like captains and soldiers, who steal around R1bn per month from Eskom.
De Ruyter said: “The criminal networks have extended their tentacles to many Eskom workers who sabotage and vandalise power stations on their behalf.”
De Ruyter further revealed that he had made enemies in his attempts to intensify efforts to fight crime and corruption at the power utility as some progress was made in tackling the problems, leading to the hindrance of corruption
This he believes puts a target on his back.
His interview only added fuel to the fire as many powerful people may have been angered by the explosive claims.
This latest announcement by De Ruyter also comes months after he revealed an attempt on his life in December 2022, where high cyanide levels were found in his blood by doctors after he felt dizzy and disoriented at the office after drinking coffee.
“It is difficult to speculate who was behind the attempt on my life. There is a pretty long list of people with motive,” said De Ruyter.
An announcement that De Ruyter would be leaving Eskom with immediate effect was made by the power utility following a special board meeting on Wednesday. This decision was said to be a mutual agreement between the utility and the former CEO.
Eskom spokesperson Sikhonathi Matshantsha revealed that the board felt that De Ruyter had brought the organisation into disrepute when he made the claims during an interview on Talk Radio 702.