LETTER: ANC caused Eskom mess so should help De Ruyter fix it

André de Ruyter was given the job of sorting out Eskom,  the most decimated state-owned enterprise in SA due to  mismanagement, corruption and cadre deployment. But responsibility for the state of Eskom lies entirely at the feet of the ANC government — contrary to what Gwede Mantashe claims. It was once a world-class entity providing the world’s cheapest electricity.

Former president Thabo Mbeki could not see further than his whisky glass that since independence the population needing electricity was going to quadruple. His attitude of SA not needing to build  more power stations put us back 10 years.

If one looks at the original estimates of the costs to build the Medupi and Kusile power stations one must ask how the build time slowed so incredibly and the final costs escalated by hundreds of times, yet they are still not fully functional.

In years past, SA’s power stations were as clean and polished as hospitals. Then the experienced senior staff were systematically retrenched, removed or chased out, and the result is the shambles we have today. The shenanigans between Jacob Zuma and the Guptas were the last straw. Between them they cost Eskom billions in corruption.

The reality is that in Africa nothing is maintained as it should be, it is left to break down, and then excuses are made. It is not only SA that suffers from this. The Hwange (formerly Wankie) power station in Zimbabwe is an example.

De Ruyter must be given 100% support from the government, as none of the former ANC appointees have been capable of improving Eskom, rather driving it further into the ground.

Bob Gillies
Via email

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