'Vollas' and political interference: De Ruyter opens up about the state of Eskom
"With respect to many of my critics, do you blame the driver of the car at the moment, or do you say hang on, all you guys who had the car before me, you actually didn't do what you were supposed to be doing?" he asked.
Eskom's CEO, Andre de Ruyter has opened up about the state of the embattled power utility.
He was speaking at a round table discussion on Friday in Parktown hosted by Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Wits school of governance to establish what collapsed Eskom and how to fix it.
The event came after another week of rolling blackouts in the country.
De Ruyter said it was not fair of his critics to blame him for the state of disrepair of Eskom.
"Imagine you have a large extended family and there is an old Volkswagen beetle that is handed down from family member to family member," he said.
"Eventually...the youngest member of the family...is given this vehicle, which has been through hands of many family members who have not maintained the car."
"With respect to many of my critics, do you blame the driver of the car at the moment, or do you say hang on, all you guys who had the car before me, you actually didn't do what you were supposed to be doing?" he asked.
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De Ruyter said political interference in the affairs of Ekso, and weak internal processes contributed to the state of affairs.
In addition, he said: "The notion that state capture ended when the Guptas' jets took off from Lanseria, allegedly laden with loot, is a myth
"State capture and its ramifications still continue and it's still part of the fabric of what we are seeing."
William Gumede, professor at the Wits School of governance, added that the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) was not heard to support Eskom.
"Unfortunately, the PFMA is very weak," he says.
"It is largely better from a governance point of view to use the new Companies Act," he added.
