LETTER: No, it’s not De Ruyter’s fault

I generally enjoy Dr Lucas Ntyintyane’s letters but question his fairness in the latest one (“Is it not De Ruyter’s fault?”, May 18). 

Damage is easily done but far more difficult to repair. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter isn’t responsible for the lack of generating capacity or the painfully slow efforts to add new capacity. He can’t recover the services of many key senior, experienced personnel who were driven out and replaced by pliant incompetents. Neither is he free to trim the bulging workforce.

He isn’t responsible for the Kusile and Medupi power plant deals that are thoroughly tainted by the get-rich-quick, corrupt ANC. He is stuck with having to make them work.

What De Ruyter has to do is get the best out of the people and equipment at his disposal, and he is doing that — with the able support of Jan Oberholzer and other sound personnel — as well as can sensibly be expected. If you want to see how bad Eskom can get, just force him out in favour of some new, bright ANC cadre.

Remember, too, the repeated message by De Ruyter and Oberholzer that much of the existing fleet will have to be retired by 2024, and that government action to deal with that time bomb has been glacial.

Roger Briggs

Edenvale

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