Eskom appoints Calib Cassim as interim CEO

February 25, 2023

(3 minutes read)

The state-owned utility Eskom has appointed an interim leader, Calib Cassim. Its former chief executive, Andre de Ruyter, had quit. Before quitting, Ruyter gave a shocking interview in which he denounced corruption at the highest level of government.

Calib Cassim, has been the chief financial officer of Eskom since 2018 and has an experience of over 20 years in the company. André de Ruyter, has led the company for more than three years. He was due to leave his post at the end of March. But he resigned in December, on the plea that he did not have the political support needed to carry out his mission and fight corruption effectively. He later claimed to have been the victim of an attempt to poison him with cyanide on the same day. In an interview with a private broadcaster ENCA recently, he directly implicated the ANC, the party in power since the end of apartheid, saying there was “tangible evidence” that embezzlement was benefiting it.

The former CEO made a series of serious accusations. In particular, he claimed that a ‘senior’ politician was involved in the serious corruption that undermined the company in various forms and that at least one government minister was aware of it. The day after the interview was broadcast, Eskom announced that Mr de Ruyter “did not need to serve the remainder of his notice period” and was released from his duties with immediate effect.

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He claimed that 1 billion rands (the equivalent of 52 million euros) were embezzled from Eskom every month and that four sophisticated mafia cartels, located in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, the country’s coal mining region, share the cake.