Mboweni said the board needed support.
“Burn me at the stake. Despite all difficulties, I am fully in support of Andre de Ruyter and the Eskom team. This is a gigantic enterprise. They need our support and not howlings,” he said.
This is not the first time Mboweni has backed De Ruyter. Earlier this year he defended him after the Eskom CEO clapped back at the power utility’s “armchair critics who style themselves as energy experts”, drawing mixed reactions. Some called for him to resign if he is tired of being criticised.
“Can people leave Andre de Ruyter and his colleagues to do their work? It is not an easy task. They don’t have to do it. I support them,” said Mboweni.
De Ruyter told the Sunday Times he does not deserve the pressure he is under, saying the utility is making inroads in fixing “the mess I inherited”.
“I would have had peace with the pressure I am under if I deserved it. This is a mess I inherited,” he said.
He said claims he was “trying to bring apartheid back” by only hiring white people were untrue, and said he only wanted the best person for the job.
“It is like your house burning and your neighbour brings his hosepipe but you wave him away saying, ‘That is a green hosepipe, I prefer a blue one’.”
‘I am fully in support of Andre de Ruyter and the Eskom team’: Tito Mboweni
Image: ESA ALEXANDER/SUNDAY TIMES
Former finance minister Tito Mboweni has thrown his weight behind Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and the power utility’s team, saying they need the country’s support.
De Ruyter and the Eskom board have been facing scrutiny and criticism after stage 6 load-shedding was implemented last week.
Members of the public and political parties, including the EFF, have called for the immediate firing of Eskom’s entire board.
The party said the board was incompetent and useless in the wake of escalating load-shedding stages.
The Sunday Times reported changes at the highest levels in crisis-stricken Eskom were looming. Several well-placed insiders told the publication about engagements between the presidency and public enterprises department about a new board. The talks are expected to be finalised this week.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would “speak soon” about what measures would be taken.
Ramaphosa pleads for 'perseverance' as country battles energy crisis
Mboweni said the board needed support.
“Burn me at the stake. Despite all difficulties, I am fully in support of Andre de Ruyter and the Eskom team. This is a gigantic enterprise. They need our support and not howlings,” he said.
This is not the first time Mboweni has backed De Ruyter. Earlier this year he defended him after the Eskom CEO clapped back at the power utility’s “armchair critics who style themselves as energy experts”, drawing mixed reactions. Some called for him to resign if he is tired of being criticised.
“Can people leave Andre de Ruyter and his colleagues to do their work? It is not an easy task. They don’t have to do it. I support them,” said Mboweni.
De Ruyter told the Sunday Times he does not deserve the pressure he is under, saying the utility is making inroads in fixing “the mess I inherited”.
“I would have had peace with the pressure I am under if I deserved it. This is a mess I inherited,” he said.
He said claims he was “trying to bring apartheid back” by only hiring white people were untrue, and said he only wanted the best person for the job.
“It is like your house burning and your neighbour brings his hosepipe but you wave him away saying, ‘That is a green hosepipe, I prefer a blue one’.”
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READ MORE:
Power cuts for week ahead: two stages of load-shedding daily until Thursday
SA desperately needs energy crisis solutions, not promises
De Ruyter has failed the nation — why hasn't he been fired?
SA's energy crisis: The five stages of President Cyril Ramaphosa
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