JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African state power utility Eskom put its chief financial officer in charge on Friday, replacing a chief executive who was asked to leave after claiming that the governing party was corrupt.
CFO Calib Cassim has been named interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect and will lead the Eskom management team until further notice, Eskom said in a statement.
On Wednesday CEO Andre de Ruyter left Eskom after making sweeping corruption allegations against the governing African National Congress (ANC) in an interview with a local television station. He did not provide evidence for the allegations.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula subsequently rejected de Ruyter’s corruption claims and labelled him a failure as CEO for his inability to revamp Eskom, which is implementing the worst power cuts on record.
Rolling blackouts of around 10 hours a day are a major constraint on economic growth and a source of frustration for voters ahead of 2024 elections that could see the ANC lose its majority in parliament for the first time.
De Ruyter had resigned in December after three years as CEO, saying a lack of political support had made his position “untenable”.
He was due to serve a notice period until the end of March before a Wednesday board meeting that cut it short.
At the 2023 budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced plans to take on more than half of Eskom’s 423 billion rand ($23.24 billion) debt to help strengthen its balance sheet.
($1 = 18.2003 rand)
(Reporting by Anait MiridzhanianEditing by Alexander Winning & Shri Navaratnam)
