Corruption costs an average of $55 million a month to South Africa’s public electricity company, Eskom, weighed down by heavy debt and unable to produce enough for the country plunged into a serious energy crisis, said Wednesday April 26 l former CEO of the company.
Questioned remotely by a parliamentary committee on public accounts, Andre de Ruyter confirmed his statements on the level of corruption within Eskom gathered in a document he submitted. “This is a conservative estimate based on my assessment of losses incurred by Eskom which have been brought to my attention,” he said in the document. One billion rand, equivalent to $55 million, “is stolen from Eskom” every month.
For months, the 60 million South Africans have been without power for up to 12 hours a day. The continent’s leading industrial power is unable to get enough electricity from dilapidated and poorly maintained Eskom power plants. And the situation could worsen with the arrival of the austral winter and an increase in demand.
A debt of almost 23 billion dollars
The electricity crisis is costing the economy some $50 million in lost production every day, according to the government. After years of mismanagement and corruption under the presidency of Jacob Zuma (2009-2018), Eskom today faces a debt of 422 billion rand, currently the equivalent of almost 23 billion dollars, which the government is trying to mop up.
South Africa still gets 80% of its electricity from coal. A $98 billion investment plan was endorsed by rich countries in 2022 at COP27 as part of an agreement for a “just transition” to clean energy.
Inducted as CEO of Eskom in 2020, Andre de Ruyter was abruptly ousted in February 2023. Hours before his departure, he accused in an interview of senior government officials, including a minister he declined to name, of involved in the looting of Eskom coffers. He expressed doubts about the government’s will to fight endemic corruption.
