Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has been cleared of allegations of racism that were levelled against him. Eskom says its Board has received the report from Advocate Ishmael Semenya who was appointed to investigate the claims.
Full statement from Eskom Board:
The allegations included the abuse of power, racial discrimination, poor governance, irregular recruitment, irregular staff appointments as well as unlawful procurement.
The independent investigation was instituted after Eskom’s former head of procurement, Solly Tshitangano, wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the board’s chairperson, Malegapuru Makgoba alleging that De Ruyter favoured white employees.
Tshitangano accused De Ruyter of purging black suppliers and using racism to deal with them. He also accused De Ruyter of attempting to purge black suppliers from Eskom’s database.
File video: SCOPA to investigate claims of racism against De Ruyter:
Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, says Advocate Semenya could not find evidence to substantiate claims of De Ruyter’s poor governance.
“The advocate could also not find any substantiation to the charge of poor governance against the Chief Executive or against Eskom. There was also no substantiation to the allegations that the recruitment processes conducted by the Chief Executive were irregular and no action will be taken against anybody at Eskom. Mr Tshitangano no longer works for Eskom as of Friday the 28th of May.”
