Eskom has announced the appointed a new acting CEO on Friday replacing Andre de Ruyter who left the power utility with immediate effect on Wednesday after making damning allegations of corruption against a government officials. Eskom said they had a mutual agreement with the former CEO and stated that he would not be completing the rest of his notice period which was due to end in March.

FAMILIAR AND QUALIFIED 

Cassim who has worked with Eskom as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since November 2018 after serving as acting CFO from July 2017 will be holding the fort until a new CEO is found. "His qualifications and extensive experience have provided Mr Cassim with a deep understanding and appreciation of the Eskom business and the electricity industry, especially regarding the challenges facing the financing of operations and future expansion of the industry,' Eskom said in a statement. Cassim is a registered Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a master's degree in Business Leadership (MBL). He has over 20 years of service at Eskom.

PROTECT DE RUYTER

Meanwhile, ANC veterans demand that De Ruyter be given whistle-blower protection after he announced that he will be leaving South Africa following threats. Snuki Zikalala said: "De Ruyter was obligated by the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities (PRECCCA) act to report the matter to the Hawks. He may or may not have done so, we do not know. However, now that he has resigned, he is a whistle-blower. We call upon him to put his allegations to the appropriate forums for investigation and call upon the President to afford him the protection of a whistle-blower, bearing in mind that our legislative whistleblowing protections are weak." 

He added that whether or not the allegations of du Ruyter are true, they should use this incident to once more reflect on what can be done to address corruption, crime and poor service delivery in state institutions.