There have been Pavlovian calls for Eskom CEO André de Ruyter to step down because he has not “fixed Eskom”. The butterflies — those who cannot imagine last year as they live only now — need to be reminded that Eskom was destroyed a quarter of a century ago, when then president Thabo Mbeki failed to build new power stations. Indeed, he has admitted as much.

The cold, dark truth is that De Ruyter’s challenge is no longer to keep the lights on, but rather to prevent a total grid collapse. A national power system takes decades to build — or to destroy. Nothing 100% effective can be built instantly. However, the calamity of a total grid collapse can be avoided if we control our blind rage and accept that De Ruyter and his team are our best hope.

Vladimir Lenin said “any society is three meals away from anarchy”.  Let us open our eyes and support the current leadership of Eskom. They are our best chance of staving off catastrophe.

Willem Cronje
Cape Town

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