Andre de Ruyter resigned as Eskom’s chief executive officer on Wednesday afternoon.
News24 reports that board chairperson Mpho Makwana was informed of Ruyter’s decision earlier in the week.
De Ruyter has been in the line of fire with Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe criticising Eskom.
Mantashe accused Eskom of “actively agitating for the overthrow of the state” as the power utility continued to implement load shedding, which hit stage 6 last week.
The minister went on to say load shedding was worse than state capture.
The decision made by De Ruyter is said to have a knock-on effect, with several senior executives and engineers said to follow suit.
Jan Oberholzer, the chief operating officer and De Ruyter’s right-hand man, will retire in April 2023.
South Africa has battled one of its worst years in terms of rolling blackouts and is currently in the midst of stage 5 load shedding.
De Ruyter took over the power utility in December 2019 and despite his efforts, he was unable to bring stability to Eskom.
Eskom and De Ruyter have yet to release an official statement on the matter.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: Andre de Ruyter
Image source: MyBroadband
