South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom’s Group Chief Executive André de Ruyter says his outfit would have liked to see greater support from law enforcement authorities in the country to see more people in jail as the organisation is clamping down on corruption.
Speaking at the opening session of this year’s Enlist Africa formerly Africa Utility Week, Mr de Ruyter gave an exclusive update on the progress that is being made on the five-point turnaround plan for South Africa’s national utility, stating that they are “holding people accountable and are making progress from a corruption perspective and a consequence management perspective.
“We have seen some Eskom employees being disciplined, being arrested, money being attached and forfeited to the state, people that we have caught for engaging in corrupt activities. Have we won the war as yet? No. But I think more and more the signal is getting out to those miscreants who are seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of South Africa and Eskom, that crime doesn’t pay, and that we will get them in the end.”
The Eskom five-point recovery plan includes achieving operational stability, improving income statements, strengthening the balance sheet, embarking on organisational restructuring and improving the culture.
Eskom Sales Have Recovered.
In a frank conversation with Enlist Africa’s Content Director, Claire Volkwyn, de Ruyter said operationally, the organisation was also doing better:
“It’s a new initiative, so visible, feeling leadership boots on the floor. We are insisting that our power station managers don’t manage from behind the desk, but rather go out and lead from the front.”
The Eskom GCE further reported that from an income statement perspective, the utility was making good progress.
“Sales have recovered remarkably well. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a big decrease in our sales over the last financial year. But this year to date, I have to say that sales have recovered very strongly, which is a good sign for the economy overall. So demand is strong.”
Africa’s Energy Transition: Eskom’s Share In Emissions
Enlist Africa has a strong focus on the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), taking place in Scotland in November, and de Ruyter also addressed Africa’s energy transition and the role that Eskom is expected to play in what many feels should be a ‘just energy transition,’ considering, in particular, how the coal industry will be affected.
“As Eskom”, he explained, “we are responsible for about 25% of African carbon emissions; so, we are a very significant contributor to the carbon footprint of the continent. If we can show the way to a cleaner and greener energy future, I think there’s a real opportunity for us to demonstrate that.”
To watch the rest of the keynote interview with André de Ruyter, register on the Enlist Africa-Connect platform by clicking here. The event is on till Thursday, 28 October.
Formerly known as African Utility Week, Enlist Africa is providing practical solutions to prepare the continent for a NetZero reality. The programme looks at various ways to achieve this; from LNG as a transitional energy source, municipal energy independence, e-mobility, and how Africa is preparing for, and what it is expecting from, the COP26 summit.
Africa Is Ready To Go Into Action
“For all of Africa, we must start with a clear signal to the world that we are ready to start the implementation of the Paris Agreement, we are ready to go into action,” was the declaration this morning of Tanguy Gahouma-Bekele, chairman of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change, who will represent the continent’s 56 nations at COP26 in Scotland next month.
As part of the Enlist Africa keynote session, the Gabonese climate negotiator explained Africa’s position at the climate conference, saying the continent is not responsible for the current situation: “Even if reducing emissions is very important, we also need to be clear and say to the world that Africa has very low emissions, but we already feel climate change in our towns and our cities. For us, it’s to help us to fight against all the consequences of climate change.”
He added: “For Africa, the two priorities are really to stop the rise of emissions, because today, we are far from the 1.5 °C or the 2 °C, which are the targets of the Paris Agreement. All the NDCs (nationally determined contributions) already released this year, prove that we will continue to emit 10% more in 10 years; but we need to reduce that by 40% in 10 years, as we cannot deal with that in Africa where we are already facing some amazing disasters.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
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