Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises chairperson Khaya Magaxa has welcomed the announcement by Eskom’s board that it has cleared CEO Andre de Ruyter of racism allegations.
Magaxa says the utility can now move on with turning the power utility around and meet its responsibilities.
The Eskom board had launched an investigation into De Ruyter after former Eskom chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano made a number of allegations against him, including abuse of power, racial discrimination, poor governance, irregular recruitment, irregular staff appointments and unlawful procurement.
The investigation was conducted by Advocate Ishmael Semenya, who considered witness interviews and 1 107 pages of documents in his investigation.
Semenya could not find substantiation for the allegation that the CEO conducted himself in any manner that would amount to racist practices or poor governance of any sort.
In a separate disciplinary hearing concerning poor performance, Tshitangano had been found guilty and dismissed.