The day Ramaphosa asked Mteto Nyati to replace Andre de Ruyter

Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa asked him to replace Andre de Ruyter as Eskom’s chief executive.

Nyati told Foord Asset Management chief investment officer Nick Balkin he received a call from Ramaphosa in September 2022.

The President returned home from an international trip to deal with the worsening crisis at Eskom and escalating load-shedding.

Ramaphosa was in Britain to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, after which he was set to travel to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly.

However, crippling Stage 6 load-shedding and mounting pressure to fix Eskom forced him to return home.

Nyati said he received a call from Ramaphosa the day after he landed, asking him to meet the following day, which was a Saturday.

“That was the mistake the President made. It gave me time to think. He was not my friend, so what was he looking for? He clearly wanted me to get into Eskom,” Nyati explained.

When Nyati visited Ramaphosa’s home on Saturday, it was confirmed that the President wanted him to run Eskom.

“He wanted me to be the CEO of Eskom. It was exactly what I thought he would be asking me,” Nyati said.

However, Nyati informed Ramaphosa that it was not the correct strategy. He argued that De Ruyter was a good leader but needed support.

“What was needed was not to replace Andre de Ruyter. What was needed was to support Andre de Ruyter,” he said.

“After a long discussion, Ramaphosa understood it. We agreed that the best way for me to help Eskom was to join the board.”

A few days later, on 30 September 2022, former Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a new Eskom board.

The new Eskom board included Mpho Makwana as chairperson and Mteto Nyati as a non-executive director.

Less than three months later, on Wednesday, 14 December 2022, Andre de Ruyter resigned as Eskom’s chief executive.

Makwana said De Ruyter has agreed to stay for an additional period beyond the stipulated 30-day notice to ensure continuity while they search for his successor.

However, following an explosive interview on ENCA in February 2023, the Eskom board and De Ruyter mutually agreed that he would leave immediately.

“De Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period and will be released from his position with immediate effect,” Eskom said.

On 9 October 2023, Minister Gordhan announced that Nyati was appointed Eskom chairperson, replacing Makwana.

Under Nyati’s guidance, Eskom has performed exceptionally well thanks to its Generation Operational Recovery Plan, which commenced in March 2023.

Eskom delivered 149 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply and maintained a constant electricity supply throughout its winter period.

There has been no load-shedding since the start of its current financial year on 1 April 2024, which surprised Eskom’s biggest critics.

Nyati credited the current Eskom leadership, and in specific the group executive for generation, Bheki Nxumalo, for the improved performance.

Nyati said having a comprehensive maintenance plan was essential but that any plan was only as good as its execution.

“You can have a plan, but if you do not implement it, then it is useless. That is a big problem in South Africa. We dream, but we can never execute.”

He said that changes to Eskom’s management team, particularly Nxumalo’s appointment, transformed the company.