South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has appointed Calib Cassim as the interim CEO of the struggling company after relieving André De Ruyter with immediate effect on Wednesday.
Calib Cassim was Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) until his new appointment on Friday.
The utility service said it was pleased to announce that Cassim would take the reigns with immediate effect.
Cassim would lead the Eskom management team until further notice, the utility service said.
Cassim was first appointed as Eskom’s CFO in November 2018 after serving as the acting CFO from July 2017.
He is a registered chartered accountant and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership.
“With over 20 years of service in Eskom, his qualifications and extensive experience have provided Mr. Cassim with a deep understanding and appreciation of the Eskom business and the electricity industry, especially regarding the challenges facing the financing of operations and future expansion of the industry,” Eskom said.
Eskom thanked Cassim’s family for permitting him to assume the additional responsibilities and said it was grateful that he was stepping up to group CEO.
Eskom announced the immediate termination of De Ruyter as CEO in a late-night statement on Wednesday, 22nd February 2023.
“Following the convening of a special board meeting on 22nd February 2023, the Eskom Board and Group Chief Executive, André de Ruyter, reached a mutual agreement to curtail his notice period to 28 February 2023,” the utility service said.
“The board further resolved that Mr de Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period but that he will be released from his position with immediate effect.”
De Ruyter already announced his resignation in December 2022 but had agreed to stay on until the end of March 2023.
The statement from Eskom did not provide any reasons for De Ruyter’s early release from the role.
However, it came a day after an exclusive interview with De Ruyter on E-tv’s ‘My Guest Tonight’ with Annika Larsen, in which he made serious allegations about the involvement of politicians in crimes that damaged Eskom financially and operationally.
De Ruyter alleged that high-level members of the ANC, including a senior minister in the government, were complicit in criminal activities such as the Mpumalanga coal theft cartels and sabotage of power stations.
The former CEO also said he was leaving the country for a while to ensure his safety following the revelations.
This was after he was asked if he was concerned that he might be murdered for speaking out.
“I think that will be good for my health,” the former Eskom CEO said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
