Global Courant
Image: Former CEO of energy company Eskom Andre de Ruyte. REUTERS/SUMAYA HISHAM
Former CEO of energy company Eskom Andre de Ruyter recently published his new book Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, in which he describes the corruption and fraud at Eskom.
Ruyter emphasizes in his memoirs that “negligence and carelessness were ingrained in the organization”. He gives a behind-the-scenes look at how corruption has ruined the energy company to the point of almost no return.
During former South African President Jacob Zuma’s state conquest, Eskom became an attractive target due to its huge procurement bill.
According to the MyBroadband report, Eskom has a purchasing bill of more than R140 billion per annum and an investment budget of more than R35 billion.
“I was struck by the sheer sense of normality created as if these egregious acts were completely within the normal course of business at Eskom,” De Ruyter said.
“Board members showed no outrage or courage. They did not question these decisions and were more than happy to resign themselves to criminal acts.”
De Ruyter reveals that Eskom has just been stopped from paying a middleman R238,000 for a mop. He also revealed that a broker bought kneepads for R150 and sold them to Eskom for R80,000. While another middleman bought a knee pad for R4,025 and sold it to Eskom for R934,950.
Eskom paid R26 for a single-ply roll of toilet paper that cost R5 and the power company paid R51 for a black flight bag whose regular price is R2.99.
“It quickly became clear to me that our chief procurement officer, Solly Tshitangano, was completely out of the picture,” says De Ruyter.
“During his watch, less than 35% of items were purchased under contract. The rest was free text on the supplier software system SAP, where you could type in any amount you wanted.
“By bypassing Solly, I could eventually push the figure from 35% to 95%.”
De Ruyter further shares that the going rate for bribes and counterfeiting the delivery of one truckload of good quality coal to the Kusile power station is R200,000.
In the book, he says a senior officer of the Hawks, the police’s priority crime investigation unit, warned him that he was being blocked in all his efforts to fight corruption in Eskom.
According to The Citizen, “Senior police officers, at least one prosecutor and a senior magistrate have also been bribed by the gangs. Eskom had 13 CEOs and acting CEOs in 13 years. Twenty-eight candidates, most of them black, turned down headhunters’ offers to become CEO of Eskom.’
