By EDN Reporter
South African political party, ActionSA has said that an answering affidavit by former Eskom Chief Executive Officer, Andre De Ruyter to various law enforcement entities, proves without any doubt, that the decisions of the ANC-led government, as far way back as 1998, are directly to blame for the state of loadshedding.
ActionSA said recently, the Eskom board announced that De Ruyter left the utility with immediate effect after he made a series of damning allegations, further proving the organisation’s belief that the ANC-led government would rather malign the messenger than deal with the substantive allegations made.
These are very serious allegations and the outgoing Eskom CEO needs to provide a formal deposition with a reputable law firm to fully disclose names, companies and contracts in the presence of opposition leaders who sign an NDA. pic.twitter.com/VML6BS9QPQ
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) February 23, 2023
In a press statement, ActionSA said the court case it filed together with the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and 17 others seeks to, among others, declare the ANC-led government’s response to load-shedding as unconstitutional and breaching several fundamental human rights, and ask that certain sectors such as safety and healthcare are exempted from loadshedding.
Read More: ANC challenges De Ruyter to lay criminal charges
The case is set to be heard on March 20, 2023, in the Johannesburg High Court. ActionSA said in what it termed a damning affidavit, De Ruyter indicated that Eskom lost its ability to invest in new electricity generation in the 1990s and has since requested approval from the state to build new generational capacity.
In the statement, ActionSA quoted De Ruyter’s affidavit which reads: “With the building of new power stations delayed for over a decade, Eskom has had to run its ageing coal fleet at far higher usage levels than accepted international industry practice and defer planned maintenance”.
Read More: Eskom CEO leaves with ‘immediate effect’
It was also stated in the press statement that when the EskomANC-led government finally granted Eskom approval to build new power stations, De Ruyter said the construction of the Medupi and Kusile power stations has to be rushed to reduce loadshedding, leading to the design and
poor construction.
Action SA said De Ruyter’s affidavit reaffirms the party’s belief that the ANC is a criminal syndicate that is directly responsible for the disaster that is loadshedding.
Read More: As Eskom Woes Deepen, Power Cuts Loom for Eswatini
“The ANC should be held accountable for plunging the country into darkness, sacrificing our people’s safety and livelihoods as a result. It is only through ethical leadership and rule of law that the loadshedding disaster can be resolved, qualities the ANC has shown time and again it does not possess,” reads part of the statement.
