The Big Answer

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The Amazon blurb says that André de Ruyter’s explosive account of his three years as CEO of Eskom, where he dealt with corruption, sabotage, political interference and a poisoning attempt.

When André de Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa. Aside from neglected equipment, ageing power stations and an eroded skills base, he discovered that Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale. Fake fuel oil deliveries at just one power station cost Eskom R100 million per month; kneepads retailing for R150 a pair were purchased for R80,000; billions of rands of equipment supposedly housed in the company’s storerooms was missing. Faced with police inaction, he was compelled to plunge into a world that was foreign to him – a world of spies and safe houses, of bulletproof vests and bodyguards.

De Ruyter was compelled to plunge into a world that was foreign to him: a world of spies and safe houses, of bulletproof vests and bodyguards

In Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, De Ruyter tells the behind-the-scenes story of how he launched a private investigation that exposed at least four criminal cartels feeding off Eskom. While fighting this scourge, he had to deal with political interference, absurd regulations, non-paying municipalities, unfounded accusations of racism, wildcat strikes, sabotage and a poisoning attempt. De Ruyter takes the reader inside the boardrooms and government meetings where South Africa’s future is shaped, with ministers often pulling in conflicting directions, like Dolittle's pushmi-pullyu.

De Ruyter takes the reader inside the boardrooms and government meetings where South Africa’s future is shaped, with ministers often pulling in conflicting directions, like Dolittle's pushmi-pullyu

He explains how renewable energy is the cheapest and quickest solution to our power crisis, in spite of fierce opposition from vested coal interests. De Ruyter candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility, his successes and failures, his reasons for leaving and his hopes for the future. As someone who worked at the highest levels of the state but is not beholden to the ruling party, he is uniquely placed to speak truth to power.

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is South Africa's primary electricity supplier, generating approximately 90% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 30% of the electricity generated on the African continent

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is South Africa's primary electricity supplier, generating approximately 90% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 30% of the electricity generated on the African continent. Eskom's strategic role remains enable economic growth by providing a reliable and predictable electricity supply in an efficient and sustainable manner. It also contributes to job creation, skills development, transformation and broad-based black economic empowerment, in support of the National Development Plan (NDP) and other country initiatives. Eskom buys electricity from and sells electricity to the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Eskom chief warns South Africans to prepare for worst-ever blackouts. The country is told to expect a ‘difficult winter’ with outages that could last as long as 16 hours

André de Ruyter spent three years as head of Eskom, obliged to deal with corruption, sabotage, political interference and a poisoning attempt

"It was once a source of national pride — an award-winning firm that powered South Africa's mining boom and later brought electricity to black communities left behind by apartheid. Families and businesses are exasperated by the record power cuts imposed by the utility, which provides about 90 percent of the country's electricity. Sabotage: A tweet Wednesday to mark the corporation's centenary summed up the bitter mood. Eskom prides itself on its long history, which is closely intertwined with that of modern South Africa. Eskom was set up on March 1, 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), tasked with boosting industry and mining activities. Yet there was a catch. In 1987 only 40 percent of the population had access to electricity. The mammoth effort even won Eskom an award in 2001. Most of the power stations are older than 45 years, and break down frequently leaving South Africans without lights for up to 12 hours each day." (Source: Eskom: South Africa's fallen energy giant, News24)

"The only conclusion is that profit-sharing by criminal and corrupt elements has become so normalised that it is self-evident: it is no longer questioned, and it has to be incorporated in plans. Without largesse being dispensed to the comrades, plans will fail, sometimes by being deliberately undermined. Now, I am not naive: I understand that in every society there is a certain level of corruption. Whether in the US, France, Germany or the UK, corruption seems to be a ubiquitous phenomenon. The difference is that even if a corrupt official abroad takes a 5 per cent bribe, the bridge still gets built, the power plant still gets repaired. In South Africa, corruption has become so overwhelmingly dominant that the system feeding the corrupt has begun to fail. . . . In any event, by November 2022, it was clear that news of the investigation had reached the ears of the corrupt cartels. It was therefore quite extraordinary that Mantashe accused me of behaving too much like a policeman who is focused on chasing criminals instead of fixing the power stations. The subtext here is quite alarming: stop chasing the crooks, but nevertheless end loadshedding. . . . But this was the minister of energy himself, effectively accusing Eskom management, and by implication me, of high treason. While Mantashe has never developed a reputation for diplomacy, this accusation plumbed new depths of disingenuous diversion from the repeated failings of his own department to come to grips with the energy crisis." (Source: Extract from de Ruyter’s Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, Murray Swart, Capetown Etc)

Fake fuel oil deliveries at just one power station cost Eskom R100 million per month; kneepads retailing for R150 a pair were purchased for R80,000; billions of rands of equipment supposedly housed in the company’s storerooms was missing.

When André de Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa: Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale. But he spent three years and whipped the company into the best shape it had been in for years before leaving on the run. This was a world of spies and safe houses, of bulletproof vests and bodyguards. And poison! The place was dangerous! Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom leaves one with a deep frustration about any prospect of making South Africa a successful country.

André de Ruyter encountered corruption on a vast scale at Eskom—they even attempted to poison him as he was trying to root out corruption